Return of the Original DigiDestined
by Silver Warrior
Summary: The DigiDestined are faced with forgotten heroes as they prepare to face off against an ancient evil that nearly destroyed the Digital World once. Can they come together to defeat an evil even the ancient saviors of the Digital World couldn't defeat?
1. Prologue

Greetings and salutations! I must say, things are looking pretty good. I've decided to upload "Return of the Original DigiDestined" before "Jun's Digital Adventure", though I may start uploading that as well when I get around to chapter ten here. Maybe Chapter Five, depending on how things run and how many reviews I get. Now, for the standard stuff.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. All I own are the original DigiDestined that I use, their Digimon except for Wizardmon, Digitamamon, and Tapirmon and Biyomon as well as the digivolutions of those two. I own the Crests of the Original DigiDestined (their concepts in the story, at least) and the idea for the Crest Weapons. And to tell the truth, that's really about it. Period.  
  
____  
  
~Jesse's voice~  
  
"Hello. This is Jesse, the last living member of the original five DigiDestined. It's been almost ten years since we banished the Beast of Darkness. Five years ago, the new generation of DigiDestined defeated not only Myotismon, but Devimon and Apocalymon and the Dark Masters as well. A few years ago they destroyed a powerful virus that had once taken over a newly created Digimon on the Internet. It then took over one of the Digimon of a DigiDestined that even I didn't know existed, yet somehow Izzy did. But the third generation of DigiDestined freed Cherubimon and saved Willis and maybe even the entire world."  
  
"Things may seem peachy keen, but I still sense a lingering feeling of dread. Like there is still a very powerful evil left around. I know Daemon and Dragomon still exist in the Dark Ocean and Devimon is in the Dark Whirpool, so maybe it's them that I am sensing. But I'm still not sure. This taint of evil seems. familiar. Something that I know I should remember yet don't."  
  
"The new DigiDestined have proven themselves to be quite capable at saving the world, even if they have merely been extremely lucky and gotten the easy job. Still, I've only had to step in once to help out the Digital World but that was when Milleniummon came from the Wall of Fire. So I had to recruit Ken and Ryo to be DigiDestined, though I had to pull Ryo from another dimension."  
  
"Darkness approaches soon. We may all soon be entrenched in a battle for the fate of every single world and every single dimension in existence. Only time will tell how events will turn out. But to even give us a remote chance at winning, I must do something I had sworn never to do."  
  
"I must reveal myself to them all."  
  
"It is time for the hidden player to come out into the open and face the past."  
  
"It is time for the lost DigiDestined to become found once again."  
  
"It is time for the new to meet the old."  
  
"It is time for me to face up to my failures."  
  
~~~  
  
So, there's the start of an awesome new adventure. What does fate have in store for the three generations of DigiDestined? Only time will tell. 


	2. Chapter One: A Face of the Past

Well, another chapter up!  
  
Disclaimer: I own only the original DigiDestined and Heromon, the Crest Weapons, and the original Crests used here.  
  
~~  
  
~Tk's voice~  
  
"Hi! This is Tk. A lot has happened since we defeated MaloMyotismon. Kari and I went to America where we met this DigiDestined named Willis who had two partner Digimon! We helped him save Lopmon with the help of Davis, Yolie, and Cody. We eventually had to say goodbye to Willis when we had to go home. Now its time for the annual DigiDestined party celebrating the day we defeated Apocalymon and Myotismon.."  
  
~~~  
  
"So you met Willis, huh?" Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi asks.  
  
"He was a bit odd at first, but when we got to know him he was really nice," Hikari "Kari" Kamiya replies.  
  
"And he had the audacity to kiss you on the cheek?" Taichi "Tai" Kamiya, Kari's older brother, chuckles.  
  
"He did," Daisuke "Davis" Motomiya says hotly.  
  
"I wish I could have met him," Ken Ichijouji says.  
  
"He also kissed Yolie on the cheek," Takeru "Tk" Takaishi adds.  
  
"Like I said, I wish I could have met him so I could beat the daylights out of him," Ken replies, then blushes at realizing the way it sounded.  
  
"He was really nice," DemiVeemon, Davis' Digimon partner, pipes up, "and Terriermon was a lot of fun."  
  
"Watching those two was like watching a couple of little kids playing," Kari smiles, "it was cute and kinda sweet."  
  
"It was also nerve-wracking," Tk chuckles, "those two ate enough pizza to feed a small army."  
  
"DemiVeemon does eat a lot, even for an In Training Digimon," Patamon, Tk's partner, says.  
  
"Hey!" DemiVeemon protests, "can I help it if I like to eat?"  
  
"All Digimon like to eat," Sora Takenouchi points out, "but you eat enough for three Digimon."  
  
"Yeah, you eat more than Agumon," Tai laughs, "even when he's Koromon, you still eat more than he does."  
  
"Well, gang up on me why don't ya?" DemiVeemon pouts.  
  
"Hey, they're insulting me too!" Agumon grumbles.  
  
"You shouldn't make such pigs of yourselves," Gatomon preens.  
  
"You have no room to talk, Gatomon," Patamon chortles, "you eat more than Veemon when we eat fish."  
  
"Kari, can I get a new scratching post?" Gatomon asks.  
  
"Why would you need one, Gatomon?" Kari asks, "is your old one getting worn?"  
  
"Yes," Gatomon says.  
  
"Sure," Kari says, "we can get you a new scratching post."  
  
"Good," Gatomon says, then looks at Patamon, "you'll make a fine scratching post, Patamon."  
  
Patamon eeps and takes to the air, well above Gatomon's reach.  
  
"Come back here you!" Gatomon screeches as she unsuccessfully tries to grab hold of Patamon.  
  
"Would you like some help, Gatomon?" Hawkmon asks.  
  
"No Hawkmon, you stay out of their little spat," Miyako "Yolie" Inuoue, Hawkmon's human partner, says.  
  
"Guys be careful," Joe Kido chides, "you don't want to hurt yourselves."  
  
"Aw, relax Joe," Gomamon, Joe's easygoing Digimon partner, says.  
  
"Besides, its funny to watch," Biyomon, Sora's partner says simply.  
  
"Ken, should I help out?" Worrmon asks, "after all, I could easily bring Patamon down here with my Sticky Net."  
  
"No, let them have their fun," Ken replies, "it is fun to watch and its just harmless banter."  
  
"Mimi, how long are you here in Japan for?" Yamato "Matt" Ishida, Tk's older brother, asks the pink-haired girl sitting beside him.  
  
"Well, school's out for the summer back in America, so I'm gonna be here for a few months," Mimi Tachikawa replies, "maybe I can talk mom and dad into moving back here. It's been lonely without you guys around."  
  
"It's great being back in Japan," Palmon, Mimi's Digimon partner says as she stretches, "and the food here is much better than it is in New York."  
  
"How does the food taste in America?" Gabumon, Matt's Digimon partner, asks.  
  
"Salty," Palmon replies, "but still good. Even the Americans can't ruin food. Though there is this one style called Cajun that you simply have to try. It's hotter than one of Greymon's Nova Blast's!"  
  
"So, what was Willis like?" Tentomon, Izzy's Digimon partner, asks.  
  
"Well, he was really nice, except when he was hitting on Kari," Davis grumbles.  
  
"You guys would have really liked him," Tk says, "he was ready to give his own life to save us from Wendigomon and then Antylamon."  
  
"Did you really digivolve to Mega Patamon?" Gabumon asks.  
  
"And so did Gatomon," Patamon replies, "I digivolved into Seraphimon, a Mega level Seraphim Digimon. If you thought I was strong as Angemon or MagnaAngemon, you really should have seen me as Seraphimon."  
  
"And what is Magnadramon like Gatomon?" Biyomon asks.  
  
"Magnadramon is a beautiful Holy Dragon Digimon with several glowing wings," Kari says dreamily, "I thought her Ultimate form of Angewomon was beautiful, but Magnadramon was breathtaking."  
  
From the shadows, a lone figure watches the DigiDestined talk amongst themselves.  
  
"So young and carefree," the shadowy figure says, "I'm gonna hate myself for shattering their pleasant dreams, but it can't be helped."  
  
Above the DigiDestined, the sky darkens slightly. A faint, familiar laughter echoes in the ears of the assembled DigiDestined. But they are unable to place where they have heard it. Some of them remember it from early in their first adventure. Some remember it from later on in the same adventure. And the rest remember it from recent times.  
  
But one remembers it from all three times.  
  
'Where have I heard this before?' Tk asks himself, 'it seems like I've heard three versions of the same laugh. But from where?'  
  
The screen on each Digivice and D-3 begins to light up. A small red dot appears on the screen, moving closer to the other DigiDestined. At the same time the laughter fades and the darkness dispels.  
  
"Whats this?" Davis asks.  
  
"There's another Digivice heading our way," Izzy says, "but that's odds. From where it appeared, it should have already been detected by our Digivices. And my computer would have detected a Digi Port opening. It makes no sense."  
  
"It does if you take three simple things into account," a voice says from behind the DigiDestined.  
  
They turn to see a young man, a little taller than Tai and perhaps a bit older as well. His hair was brown, just a few shades too light to be called dark brown though. He had on a pair of wire-frame glasses and was holding what looked to be a walking stick that was slightly longer than his arm. He also had a goatee that looked to be about an inch long. His silver t-shirt and blue denim jeans made him look ordinary, despite the fact he had a Digivice just like the older DigiDestined carried attached to a belt loop. A look into his eyes would reveal haunted blue-green orbs that had seen a lot in life.  
  
However, none of the assembled DigiDestined looked into his eyes. Instead, they stared at him.  
  
"If you take into account three things, you'll know why you didn't detect my Digivice until I wanted you to," the stranger says calmly, "for one thing, I know how to cloak its signal. It's real easy. Anyone with half a brain could do it. Second, your Digivices are only on passive search mode. I was just barely out of their casual detection range. And finally, I know more about the Digivices than anyone else alive."  
  
"Who are you?" Tai asks.  
  
"A better question would be, what are YOU gonna do about this darkness and the source of the laughter," the stranger replies.  
  
"Did you create it?" Davis asks.  
  
"No, but I know who did, and more precisely what it means," the stranger replies, "besides, what would you do if I had been the source? Fight me, perhaps?"  
  
"We would," Tai says adamantly, "we'd defeat you like we've defeated so many others."  
  
"Others as in Devimon, Etemon, Myotismon, the Dark Masters, Apocalymon, Millenniummon, the Digimon Emperor, Daemon, and MaloMyotismon?" the stranger asks, his eyebrow arched in amusement.  
  
"We would," Davis says cockily, "we kicked their butts and we could kick yours if you're a threat to the world."  
  
The stranger laughs. It was cold and chilling, yet it still had humor. It was if it was a laugh of humor sucked dry of all but the tiniest trace of emotion. "Oh please! Not a single one of those Digimon I named would be worth the effort it would take for me to take them down. The threat they posed was too small for me to interfere."  
  
The older DigiDestined gasp in amazement. Apocalymon had very well nearly destroyed everything. Daemon was perhaps the most evil being still alive and MaloMyotismon had almost shrouded the world in darkness. Then something hits Ken.  
  
"Who is Millenniummon?" Ken asks.  
  
"I'm surprised you didn't remember," the stranger says, "he was the evil you were called into the Digital World to defeat. With his final act of evil, he tried to implant the Dark Spore in your partner. You jumped in front of it, sacrificing yourself to save him."  
  
"The Dark Spore still blocks a lot of my memories," Ken admits, "so now the monster has a name. Maybe now the nightmares will be less severe."  
  
"Are you the one who created the darkness and the laughter?" Tk asks, repeating Davis' earlier question.  
  
"No, but I have fought the Beast who did," the stranger replies, "once before, and it cost me more than you will ever understand. I made a mistake and I am not making it again. You have fought him as well. He has ever been an enemy of the DigiDestined ever since he stepped from beyond the Wall of Fire."  
  
All of the older DigiDestined gasp at that remark.  
  
"Whats the Wall of Fire?" Davis asks.  
  
The stranger's eyes narrow. "I see you haven't told the children everything."  
  
"Who are you calling a child?" Davis demands.  
  
"You, who have barely seen what any world has to offer," the stranger replies.  
  
The stranger looks at each of the DigiDestined. "If you wish to know more, then follow me. If you can keep up, that is."  
  
With that, the stranger starts walking away.  
  
"Are we gonna follow him?" Joe asks.  
  
"I say lets do it," Tai says, "this guys gotten me curious. And he knows something about that darkness and the evil laugh."  
  
The DigiDestined begin to follow the stranger with Tk in the back.  
  
'I just know I've heard that laugh before, but where?' Tk wonders.  
  
An hour later, the DigiDestined had followed the stranger to the TV station.  
  
"I wonder what he's doing here?" Izzy asks.  
  
Somehow, the stranger and the DigiDestined slip unnoticed to the roof, to the exact same room that the DigiDestined, minus Ken, had been assembled in when Wizardmon had told them to "seek the golden radiance".  
  
A figure steps out of the shadows. It was a Digimon, though it looked human enough to pass off for one with the appropriate clothes.  
  
"I still can't believe you insisted on bringing them here," the Digimon says crossly.  
  
"We are too much at a disadvantage this time," the stranger replies, "last time, there were five of us. Now there's just you and me and if we tried this alone we'd be as good as dead. And then they would be the next targets. So its only logical that they be given a better chance by teaming up with us."  
  
"No, I know we need their help," the Digimon sighs, "but we don't need them here for this."  
  
"They must know the truth, and the sooner the better," the stranger replies.  
  
Patamon gasps as he recognizes the strange Digimon, though he doesn't know how he recognizes him. "That's Heromon!"  
  
The DigiDestined look at the small Digimon.  
  
"Who?" Tk asks.  
  
"That's Heromon, one of the few Rookie level Warrior Digimon," Patamon explains, "and he's strong. He could easily take on any Champion level Digimon and have a fair chance of winning."  
  
"I remember a legend of a Heromon once," Gatomon says, "Myotismon told me of it. He said that Heromon is the mightiest Rookie level Digimon, and each of his properly digivolved forms is the strongest of that level. He is supposed to be unbeatable."  
  
Heromon looks at the other Digimon and chuckles. "Quite the intellectual, kitty cat. But Myotismon was misinformed. I am able to be beaten. I haven't been beaten often, but I am beaten every now and then. Myotismon just says I am unbeatable because he'd have never stood a chance if I had fought him even in my Champion form and he knew it too."  
  
"Enough yakking, we need to get the job done," the stranger says. He raises the walking stick he has and it shifts into a double-edged sword with a seven-inch hilt and a thirty-two inch blade. A strange symbol is on the hilt. The edge of the blade grows a ghostly shade of green.  
  
"By Honor and Life, come forth old friend!" the stranger commands.  
  
A shadow zips along the ground and stops before the stranger. A translucent body begins to form upwards of the shadow, taking the shadows shape. The shape of Wizardmon.  
  
The DigiDestined gasp in astonishment. They didn't know that Wizardmon was still around. They had simply assumed that he had gone to wherever Digimon to while they wait to be reformatted.  
  
"Wizardmon!" Gatomon and Kari cry out at seeing the Digimon who had saved their lives.  
  
"So you're still lingering around, old friend," the stranger says.  
  
"J-jesse?" Wizardmon gasps as he gets a good look at the stranger. He turns to look at Heromon. "And Heromon? You both survived the battle?"  
  
The stranger Wizardmon had just identified as Jesse gapes at the ghost of a Digimon floating before him. "How the heck do you remember us?"  
  
"When I died, I regained the memory I had lost," Wizardmon replies, "now answer my question."  
  
"Sorry, but you should remember the others passing away," Jesse says sadly.  
  
"And Brian?" Wizardmon asks shakily.  
  
"The reason you lost your memory is because when a Digimon's partner dies, their memories are locked away so as to not cause them the pain of having failed them," Jesse replies, his voice an even monotone now.  
  
"So Brian's... dead?" Wizardmon asks.  
  
"He leaped in front of an attack meant for me, trading his own life for mine," Jesse says, his voice showing signs of breaking.  
  
Wizardmon slumps. Which was amusing to see, since he was floating in the air. It was more like he lowered how high he was floating and bent his knees back as if he was sitting down on the floor. No, it was more in his posture and body language than anything else.  
  
"H-how long has it been?" Wizardmon asks, his voice shaky.  
  
"To tell the truth, I haven't counted the years," Jesse replies, "they've blended in too much."  
  
At that moment, Gatomon overcomes her shock at seeing Wizardmon again and finds her voice. "Wizardmon, who is this guy?"  
  
Wizardmon looks at his feline friend and smiles. Not that you could see it, but he was smiling.  
  
"This is a very old friend of mine, one whom I knew long before I met you Gatomon," Wizardmon says.  
  
"But how?" Gatomon asks, "you said I was your first friend."  
  
"I used to be the partner of a DigiDestined," Wizardmon says, "the leader of the true first group."  
  
The eight more experienced DigiDestined gasp at that, as do their Digimon. This was something they had never thought they'd learn about more than just a small story.  
  
"But in our final battle, things did not go well," Wizardmon says, "three of our team members perished at the hands of the mighty Beast of Darkness. My last memory before I awoke with no memory of my past was a portal opening and Jesse and my partner Brian about to go through it to escape the Digital World since we were being overpowered."  
  
"The Beast sent an attack at me, since I was the most dangerous of the five of us," Jesse says, "Brian threw himself in front of the attack. There. wasn't much left of him. The sight of him still gives me more nightmares than anything else I've ever seen, and I've spent a year or two in the Dark Ocean killing Dragomon's servants on more than one occasion."  
  
"Who is Dragomon?" Kari asks.  
  
"The undersea master of the Scubamon," Jesse replies simply.  
  
"You just go into the Dark Ocean and kill off his servants and he does nothing?" Tk demands, "the both of you are heartless!"  
  
"Dragomon is heartless, but I am not," Jesse says, "I kill his servants because he kills them himself anyway and absorbs their power. It has taken him a long time, but he is more powerful than anything you have ever faced, despite him only being an Ultimate level Digimon. If he were to digivolve to Mega, I shudder to imagine the power he would possess."  
  
"So you got back to the real world and stayed here except for occasional foray's into the Digital World?" Izzy asks.  
  
"Actually, as soon as I had healed up respectably, along with Heromon who followed me through the portal almost immediately in real world time, I went back to the Digital World and stayed there except for my occasional visits to the Dark Ocean and a few other worlds," Jesse replies.  
  
"But that's impossible!" Izzy exclaims, "hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, of years had passed by between the time you and your companions were in the Digital World and Apocalymon's defeat!"  
  
"One million, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and eighty-two years to be exact," Jesse states, "I turn two million years old in a few weeks."  
  
Everyone present except for Heromon gape at Jesse.  
  
"You're saying you've lived over a million years?" Davis asks, disbelieving.  
  
"You probably don't fully realize it, but each Crest gives its bearer certain abilities," Jesse says, "some more than others. This is most evident in the four known Holy Crests, Life, Faith, Light, and Hope. I possess the Crest of Life. It keeps me at the same physical age I was when I first entered the Digital World. It also keeps a slight aura of Digi World energy around me to whenever I go into a world not similar enough to the Digital World so that I am as I was before I went to the Digital World. In other words, it makes me healthy. Before I went to the Digital World, I had a heart murmur. Now I've spent so much time in the Digital World, as well as a bit of time in the World of Dreams, that I am one hundred percent healthy, healthier than any other human alive."  
  
"Jesse, why are you here?" Wizardmon asks, "during our journey in the Digital World, you never did anything without a reason."  
  
"To tell you the truth, I'm here to test out a newly discovered ability of my Crest of Life," Jesse says. He reaches into his shirt and pulls out a Tag and Crest. The Crest shows what look to be three triangles merged together to form a larger triangle, with their inner edges forming a fourth triangle.  
  
"And what can it do?" Wizardmon asks.  
  
"It can restore to you what Myotismon stole from you: your life," Jesse replies simply, "I know you cannot be reformatted since you were killed in the real world and because at one time or another a lot of power was flowing through you."  
  
"You can bring me back to life?" Wizardmon asks, his voice catching in his throat.  
  
"I can, my friend," Jesse says, "do you wish me to try?"  
  
"Is there any risk to you?" Wizardmon asks.  
  
"It'll drain away a large amount of my energy, but it'll be worth it to help right the wrongs Myotismon caused," Jesse says, "its too bad I can't bring humans back to life. I just don't have the energy."  
  
"Jesse, there's something your not telling me," Wizardmon says, his voice steely, "if your not gonna tell me before you restore me to life, then save your time and energy and leave me be."  
  
Jesse and Wizardmon stare into each other's eyes before Wizardmon is forced to turn away, unable to meet Jesse's gaze for long.  
  
"The Beast is still alive," Jesse says flatly.  
  
Wizardmon turns back to look Jesse straight in the eye.  
  
"Wasn't he destroyed not too long ago?" Wizardmon asks.  
  
"Every single bit of him is still alive," Jesse replies, "and now his consciousness is directing Daemon and Dragomon in the Dark Ocean while he tries to use Devimon to break out of the Dark Whirlpool and create a portal between the Dark Ocean and the Dark Whirlpool."  
  
"Do it," Wizardmon says, his voice now totally devoid of even the tiniest traces of emotion, "they must be avenged."  
  
"The worlds must be made safe," Jesse corrects as the light emanating from his Crest begins to flare up even more, "the time for the final battle is at hand. I have read prophecies that even Gennai does not even know exist. The final battle is at hand."  
  
At that, the light from the Crest of Life envelops Wizardmon in a cocoon. It stays there in the air, shining with a brilliant luminescence that was unlike anything any of the younger DigiDestined had seen before.  
  
As the light fades, the cocoon unravels, revealing Wizardmon. He was now solid.  
  
"Wizardmon!" Gatomon cries out, running up to Wizardmon and hugging him hard. Kari isn't far behind the small feline Digimon.  
  
"Man, I wish I was Wizardmon," Davis mumbles.  
  
"What, you mean you wished you had died saving Kari from Myotismon?" Matt asks.  
  
"No, I want Kari to hug me!" Davis whines. Everyone but Heromon, Jesse, Kari, Gatomon, and Wizardmon burst out in laughter at him.  
  
"That is why you were selected to be a Digidestined," Jesse says, "you can make others laugh."  
  
"What about the rest of us?" Cody asks.  
  
"You, Cody, were selected because you have perhaps the strongest sense of duty out of all DigiDestined, save myself," Jesse replies, "sad to see it in one so young. You really need to learn to be a kid. Ask Davis and Tai for help. They'll never stop being kids."  
  
"Hey!" the two DigiDestined leaders cry out. Everyone chuckles at them.  
  
"And what about me?" Yolie asks, "and Ken?"  
  
"Yolie, you have a compassion that is very strong, and it gives those around you even greater strength," Jesse says.  
  
"And me?" Ken asks.  
  
"Ken was chosen for the same reason as Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Joe, Mimi, Kari, and Tk were selected, as well as myself and the others on my team," Jesse replies, "he had the ability to enable Digimon to digivolve. And that's not just his partner. Between Matt and Tai's Digivices, Leomon was able to Warp Digivolve into his Mega form of SaberLeomon."  
  
"Can we all do that?" Cody asks.  
  
"Maybe," Jesse says with a small smile, "to tell the truth, the true reasons why any of us were chosen stumps even me. And I've made it a point to try and find out. Spent a couple of centuries here and there trying to find out. Even spent one peaceful millennia trying to find out at one point."  
  
"That was the easiest millennia we ever got," Heromon grumbles, "because at the end of that thousand years was when that DemoGorgomon tried to destroy the Digital World."  
  
"Too bad for it it announced its intention right in front of us when it freshly digivolved to its new level," Jesse chuckles, "it lasted, what, ten seconds?"  
  
"No, it lasted ten years, remember?" Heromon asked, "we got it in the Southern Quadrant and enlisted Zhuqiaomon's help."  
  
"Oh yeah," Jesse says, "boy, was he ticked. He never was fond of humans."  
  
"And you deepened that hatred," Heromon says flatly, "before, he was not fond of humans. Now he downright hates them."  
  
"I haven't paid much attention to that overgrown turkey in three thousand years," Jesse says, "he hasn't done anything rash, has he?"  
  
"Well, not to my knowledge," Heromon sighs, "I haven't paid much attention to that weakling either."  
  
"But the Guardians are at the Mega level!" Izzy gasps, "and they've gotten a lot stronger since they were trapped by the Dark Masters. They are among the strongest Digimon ever! And you're being disrespectful to them."  
  
"And your being disrespectful to your elders," Jesse replies tartly, "we call the Guardians weaklings because even before the Dark Masters came into power, the Guardians were not strong enough to protect the Digital World. A powerful Mega called Seraphimon protected the Digital World, and when he disappeared, everything started falling apart. Pixiemon was left pretty much being the hands-on protector of the Digital World while the Guardians devised summoning the DigiDestined. In the end, Seraphimon returned, though shortly thereafter the Guardians were sealed away. None of them were released until you younger DigiDestined released Azulongmon. With my help the other three Guardians have been released."  
  
"So all four of them are free now?" Tai asks.  
  
"Don't be a donkey," Jesse snaps peevishly, "of course they're free. There have only been a few creatures that I have met who were able to take me and Heromon on when we're at our best."  
  
"And none of them are technically around anymore," Heromon says with a sinister grin.  
  
"What happened to them?" Izzy asks.  
  
"Well, not all of the things we've fought have been Digimon," Jesse says, "we've fought real demons, vampires, a werewolf or two, and even some things that I don't even have the words for. We've been to more worlds than I care to count and fought more evil than I had originally thought possible to exist in such a short span of time. In short, I'm surprised I'm still alive."  
  
Heromon chuckles. "There was barely a day that went by that you didn't say "We're gonna die" at least three times."  
  
"I almost said it like a prayer at mealtimes when you cooked," Jesse chuckles, "two million years and he can't learn how to cook."  
  
"Well, its not like you're a good teacher," Heromon retorts.  
  
"I'm not a good teacher in the culinary arts," Jesse admits, "but I taught you many a thing when it came to fighting."  
  
"You taught me nothing!" Heromon huffs, "its all natural skill!"  
  
"If you keep telling yourself that, you might even start to believe it," Jesse says mockingly.  
  
"Were they always like this?" Gatomon asks Wizardmon.  
  
Wizardmon sighs. "Believe it or not, they seemed to be getting along a lot better. There used to be a lot of open hostility between those two. They even tried to bash each others' brains in one time."  
  
"I'd really hate to see how they used to get along then," Kari remarks.  
  
"It drove us all crazy," Wizardmon says, "but there was nothing we could do. Heromon was the strongest of us at each level and he could take any of us on even with us at our Mega forms and him as an Ultimate."  
  
"Sounds like me," Patamon says, "it takes an incredible amount of power for me to digivolve to my Mega form, but even when I'm in my Ultimate form I can take on any evil Mega and more than likely win."  
  
"You couldn't beat BlackWarGreymon," Davis points out, "it took WarGreymon and Imprialdramon Fighter Mode at the same time to take him down."  
  
"Imperialdramon Fighter Mode was still a Dramon Type Digimon," Izzy says, "BlackWarGreymon and WarGreymon are Dramon Destroyer's, Digimon specially suited to fighting Dramon Digimon. He had an advantage of type over you."  
  
"Yeah, and WarGreymon was doing just fine against him on his own," Tai says, "he could have taken him down."  
  
"Or fight him to a draw," Tk adds, "and MagnaAngemon would have defeated BlackWarGreymon if BlackWarGreymon hadn't destroyed the Destiny Stone and robbed MagnaAngemon of the source of the power that enabled him to digivolve to Ultimate."  
  
Jesse and Heromon finally stop their bickering and turn to the DigiDestined.  
  
"Jesse, why did you bring me back?" Wizardmon asks, "I know you well enough that you never did anything without a reason. You left the rest of us alone to fend off evil Digimon to make us look to Brian as our leader. And to make us stronger."  
  
"And because you were annoying me," Jesse adds with a straight face.  
  
Wizardmon scowls. "Have you ever taken anything seriously."  
  
"Well, two million years of near-constant battle will warp a person's sense of human," Jesse says mockingly, "but I forgive Heromon for his warped sense of humor."  
  
"Me?!" Heromon asks incredulously, "he's talking about you!"  
  
"Hmm, you may be onto something there," Jesse says, then he turns dead serious, "well, enough dilly-dallying. On to business."  
  
"Talk about turning your emotions off," Davis murmurs at seeing Jesse go from humorous to dead serious."  
  
"Wizardmon, we got a job to finish," Jesse says, "one we started almost two million years ago in the Digital World."  
  
"A job to finish?" Wizardmon says quizzically, then his expression turns serious. "You can't be serious."  
  
"Dead serious," Jesse deadpans, "we have to gather the rest of our group. There are other things that I have discovered that I will tell you when we are gathered together."  
  
"What should I do?" Wizadmon asks.  
  
"Go to where I found the secret to my strength in the Digital World," Jesse says, "you will find the bird of Compassion and Spirit there."  
  
Wizardmon nods his understanding.  
  
Jesse raises his right hand palm out. A small glow envelops his hand and a multi-colored hole appears.  
  
"It's a Digital Gate!" Izzy exclaims, "just like the one that took us to the Digital World!"  
  
"I have long since mastered the ability to create a Gate to the Digital World," Jesse says solemnly, "Heromon, you're going to get the last two."  
  
"Got it," Heromon nods as he steps into the Gate.  
  
"You've got quite a bit of explaining to do later Jesse," Wizardmon warns.  
  
"Yeah yeah, just go through the Gate," Jesse sighs, "we'll meet up and talk later."  
  
Wizardmon steps into the Gate and vanishes along with Heromon.  
  
"We're gonna see you again, aren't we?" Sora asks.  
  
"Duh," Jesse says, "there's a lot of big stuff going on and even I'll need more than the Digimon of my old team's help. I'll need your help as well. I'm gonna be talking with Gennai to get you all your Crests. I'll even test all of you to see if any of you can use a Crest Weapon. And Yolie and Cody? I'll be getting you your Crest Digi-Eggs as well as your Tags and Crests. Ken, I'll only be getting you your Tag and Crest Digi-Egg. Well, we'll see each other again before long. For now, I bid you adieu."  
  
With that, Jesse steps into the Gate and disappears. The Gate slowly fades away.  
  
After a few moments silence, Tai speaks up. "I can't believe we got to meet on of the original DigiDestined."  
  
"For some reason it feels like I should know him," Ken says.  
  
"Don't you remember Ken?" Wormmon asks, "Jesse is the one who brought you and Ryo to the Digital World."  
  
"Ryo?" Ken asks.  
  
"He helped us defeat Milleniummon," Wormmon replies, "the Dark Spore was heading for him, but you pushed him out of the way and took it instead. After that, you were out of it for a while, tossing and turning. I was really worried and so was Ryo. Jesse came and took Ryo home and then took you home."  
  
"Wait, you knew who he was?" Cody asks.  
  
"No," Wormmon says, "I only recognized his appearance. I didn't know his name. I thought he was one of those people like Gennai, who looked human but weren't."  
  
"So, we got a two million year old member of the DigiDestined who has appeared, saying that there is an evil stronger than anything anyone but him has ever faced, we're severely undermanned without the others on his team, and that we're gonna get our Tags and Crests and the new kids are gonna get their Tags and Crests as well as the Digi-Eggs of their Crests," Izzy says.  
  
"Izzy, breathe," Tai says, "your face is turning blue."  
  
"Well, there's not much we can do until Jesse comes back," Tk says, "so I suggest we just go on with our lives as usual."  
  
"Agreed," Sora says.  
  
"Hey, I think we need some more back-up," Davis says, "we should go and get Willis. Two Golden Armor Digimon should prove helpful.  
  
"Agreed," Tai says, "besides, I wanna meet the guy who kissed my little sister."  
  
Kari blushes. "Tai, it was just a kiss on the cheek, same as he gave Yolie."  
  
"Well, we'd better get home," Tai says, "this has been a very eventful day."  
  
The DigiDestined walk out of the TV station and split off into their separate ways with their Digimon.  
  
Atop the TV station, Jesse, Heromon, and Wizardmon watch the DigiDestined leave.  
  
"So, Jesse, whats your plan," Wizardmon asks.  
  
"You two go on and gather Phoenixmon, Digitamamon, and Tapirmon," Jesse says, "I'm gonna get to know these DigiDestined better. We'll need to work better as a team and getting to know one another will do that."  
  
"How are you going to keep them from asking questions about your adventures and who we're fighting," Wizardmon asks, "I still can't believe that he's still around."  
  
"We're not completely sure that he's able to return as things are," Heromon says, "we're not sure how, but he is planning to return. He won't let a little thing like Imperialdramon Fighter Mode's Giga Crusher stop him. Yes, it was a setback, but one he no doubt planned for. He did, after all, prepare for his defeat when the DigiDestined first fought him."  
  
"Technically, they never fought him, just the vessel that held his consciousness," Jesse corrects, "we three are the only ones who fought him who are still alive and remember."  
  
"Technically just me and you," Heromon jokes, "since Wizardmon was killed."  
  
"Not funny," Wizardmon grumbles.  
  
"Well Jesse, how are you gonna get to know these youngsters?" Heromon asks.  
  
"Like this," Jesse says, removing his glasses and passing a hand over his goatee. The goatee disappears.  
  
"That's not gonna be enough," Heromon says.  
  
"I'm also doing this," Jesse says, his voice suddenly different. It was now a bit deeper and more melodious. His body language was different as well.  
  
"Where did you learn to do that?" Wizardmon asks, amazed.  
  
"Spent a few decades perfecting my acting skills," Jesse replies, "after all, I did have to try to blend in as a Digimon a lot of the time. Or s something else, depending on the world we were in."  
  
"Any more instructions in case we finish before you?" Heromon asks.  
  
"Yes," Jesse replies, "Wizardmon, see if you can find Myotismon's records on the multi-dimensional Gateway. We may need it. I can only take one or two people to another world through the Gates at a time, and we'll definitely need more than that. Plus, if I fall, the other DigiDestined will need a way to travel to the other worlds."  
  
"If you can't get anything, we can talk to Oikawa's spirit," Heromon says, "in fact, go to Azulongmon's palace and talk to him. He can tell you how to get in contact with Oikawa's ghost and you can take it from there."  
  
"So Jesse, mind telling us exactly what you're gonna be doing?" Wizardmon asks.  
  
"What else?" Jesse asks with a grin, "I'm going back to school!"  
  
~~  
  
Back to school? Now, what do you suppose that means? Wait for the next chapter to find out! Also, please review. 


	3. Chapter Two: A New Face at School

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon, only own a few Crest ideas, the Crest Weapons, Jesse, and Heromon.  
  
~~  
  
~Tai's voice~  
  
"We were all gathered together to talk about the adventure the younger kids had just gone on. Then the sky turned black and we heard an odd laugh. I couldn't identify it, but it sounded familiar. I think it really disturbed Tk."  
  
"Oddly enough, right after that this stranger showed up. He turned out to be one of the original five DigiDestined who saved the Digital World many years before the gang and I saved it from the Dark Master and Apocalymon. We followed him to the site of our battle with Myotismon four years ago where he resurrected Wizardmon. As it turns out, Wizardmon was the partner to one of the original DigiDestined!"  
  
"It seems that a major battle is coming our way and even Jesse will need our help. This time, however, all the worlds seem to be in danger, not just the Digital World. But I know that we can win this."  
  
~A week after the DigiDestined meet Jesse~  
  
"I still can't believe that Wizardmon is back," Mimi says thoughtfully, "but I can't that we met one of the original five DigiDestined."  
  
"But we did," Sora says, "he really was an interesting guy. It's hard to believe that he's almost two million years old. I mean, he still acted like a normal teenager, but he could make a complete turnaround and act completely different in the time it takes to blink. And I thought Matt was cold during our first trip to the Digital World."  
  
"Thanks," Matt grumbles.  
  
"Let's hurry to school," Mimi suggests, "I wouldn't wanna be late on my first day back, after all!"  
  
~At Odaiba High School~  
  
The teacher, Mrs. Hayashi, greets the class. She was a middle-aged woman, being only thirty-one years old, and she got along great with the students. She treated them with respect and kindness while the students did all of their work and didn't get into any trouble in her class. All of the teenage DigiDestined were in this class. "Good morning class"  
  
"Good morning Mrs. Hayashi," the class says in unison.  
  
"We have s new student today," Mrs. Hayashi says, "please welcome him and treat him with respect."  
  
Jesse walks in, though none of the DigiDestined could recognize Jesse. He was clean-shaven and his glasses were gone and his hair was a lighter shade of brown.  
  
"Will you introduce yourself?" Mrs. Hayashi asks.  
  
Jesse glances at the class. Every single DigiDestined in Japan who was a teenager was in this class. How nice of Gennai to keep them together so their friendship would remain intact.  
  
Jesse bows deeply to the class, then speaks in perfect Japanese. To use the Digivice as a translator, he would have to activate it completely, and that would alert Izzy. "Hello, my name is Jacob Plunk. I am from the United States. My family and I just moved here."  
  
"Jacob, you can sit beside Tai. He's the one with the insane haircut," Mrs. Hayashi says.  
  
Tai manages to look wounded at that comment. The class chuckles at Tai. This was why they liked Mrs. Hayashi. She was almost like a teenager herself. She just never grew up.  
  
Jesse takes his seat as the class starts. Jesse keeps a watchful eye on the DigiDestined, but has to stay wary of Izzy. Izzy could punch a hole in his plan.  
  
~At lunch~  
  
"Man, I am starving," Tai says, "even school food is better than my moms cooking."  
  
Mimi nods in agreement. "Hey, isn't that the new kid?"  
  
Jesse, as it turned out, was having trouble finding a place to sit. He stood out like a sore thumb and none of the other students seemed eager to make room for him.  
  
"Why does this curse follow me everywhere?" Jesse mutters angrily.  
  
"Hey Jacob, over here," Mimi calls out. Jesse turns to look at the DigiDestined.  
  
"You can sit here with us," Mimi offers.  
  
"Thanks," Jesse says as he slides into a seat, "I always seem to have trouble finding a seat at lunch."  
  
"What about friends?" Matt asks, "they could save you a seat."  
  
"Don't have friends," Jesse replies, "my family moved around too much so I never really had time to make friends. I stopped trying to make friends a few years ago because I couldn't handle the emotional turmoil of being uprooted time after time away from my friends."  
  
"That's so sad," Sora says sympathetically.  
  
"It's not as bad as it seems," Jesse replies, brushing off Sora's sympathy, "I still talk to my friends over the internet a lot. I set up a web site with a chat room so I could talk with them a lot. Unfortunately, there is too much of a time difference between Japan and America."  
  
"Tell me about it," Mimi says, "I live in New York City. I'm staying with friends for a while."  
  
"I can tell," Jesse says, faking surprise, "I've been to New York a time or two. Very crowded place. I didn't like it. I'm from the Southern state of Tennessee."  
  
"That explains your faint accent," Mimi says, "New Yorkers constantly make fun of Southerners."  
  
"And Southerners make fun of everyone, including themselves," Jesse replies with a faint grin.  
  
"I've always heard that the southern states were beautiful," Izzy remarks, "what are they like?"  
  
Jesse smiles. "Absolutely wonderful. The air is cleaner than you'd find it in most cities and the people are very nice. The food is great, just don't ask too many questions about what goes into the food if you're eating in Louisiana or eating Cajun cooking. The landscape is still largely untouched, and there are miles of natural forests where you can hike and camp and fish."  
  
"Sounds like a great place to live," Tai says, "why'd ya move all the way to Japan?"  
  
"Tai!" Sora scolds, "that's a rude thing to ask!"  
  
"It's okay," Jesse says, "we moved because we're searching for a guy I met at summer camp about ten years ago. He's been missing for a few years and we came to Japan to find him."  
  
"Wow, you came all the way to Japan to find a friend?" Matt asks, "that's a pretty strong friendship you have."  
  
"Yeah," Jesse says, "he said he lived in the Heighten View Terrace district before moving to America, so we decided to start looking there."  
  
"Sora and I lived in Heighten View Terrace ten years ago," Tai says, "in fact, all six of us did. What was his name? We might have known him."  
  
"His name was James Moyiyama," Jesse replies, silently cursing his forgetfulness. He had forgotten that James had known Tai and Kari in particular.  
  
Tai and Sora grow silent at the mention of James' name.  
  
"Did you say James Moyiyama?" Tai asks softly.  
  
"Yes, I did," Jesse replies, carefully schooling his reaction, "did you know him?"  
  
"We knew a family named Moyiyama," Tai says, "they moved to America ten years ago with their son James. They moved back two years later, but James wasn't with them. My mom and dad tried to talk to them, since James had babysat me and my sister Kari before they moved, but they refused to talk about it. In fact, Mrs. Moyiyama broke down in tears whenever they tried to talk about it."  
  
Jesse made mental notes of this. Tai, Kari, and Sora would be grouped together when the time came.  
  
"About how old would the James Moyiyama you knew be if he were here?" Jesse asks carefully.  
  
"He'd be about twenty-four years ago," Sora replies.  
  
"So would the James Moyiyama I knew," Jesse says, "its entirely probably that we knew the same James Moyiyama. Either that or it's a very big coincidence. Strange."  
  
"Very strange," Izzy agrees. Jesse manages to keep from shifting nervously under Izzy's gaze. Izzy was the most intelligent of the DigiDestined. If his identity would be figured out by any of the DigiDestined, it would be him.  
  
'I'm gonna have to keep his mind preoccupied to make sure that he doesn't figure me out prematurely,' Jesse thinks to himself, 'Izzy is by far the smartest of the DigiDestined. Ken may still have the Dark Spore enhancing him, but Izzy is a lot more used to figuring things like this out. It's entirely possible he knows almost as much as I do about the Digital World.'  
  
As the bell rings at the end of the lunch period, Jesse walks alongside the DigiDestined.  
  
"By the way, what's the last period?" Jesse asks.  
  
"Phys. Ed," Tai replies.  
  
The coach had decided that the class would try out team sports. And his sport of choice was soccer. Odaiba High had an excellent soccer reputation thanks to Tai.  
  
"So Jacob, have you ever played soccer before?" Tai asks as they were getting ready for the game.  
  
"I used to be a fairly good goalie, but I haven't played in a long time," Jesse replies while thinking, 'sure, I haven't played in over a million years, but soccer isn't that difficult a game.'  
  
"Don't worry, we'll go easy on you," Sora promises with a gentle smile.  
  
"Hey, I was a goalie," Jesse snorts, "there's really not that much work in being a goalie if you know how to do it right and your team knows how to work together."  
  
~After the class ends~  
  
"Jacob, how in the world were you there to block every single one of those shots?" Tai demands as they head out of the school.  
  
"Stay even with the ball at all times and there's always at least a seventy percent chance of blocking a goal," Jesse replies.  
  
"If you're gonna be here in Japan long enough, you should try out for the school team," Tai suggests.  
  
"Sorry, but I only play sports for fun," Jesse says, "I'm just not good enough in most sports to play competitively. That and it's a major headache."  
  
"I agree with you there," Sora says, "that's why I switched from playing soccer to playing tennis. Less stress, but just as exhilarating."  
  
"I don't understand tennis," Jesse admits, "never have, likely never will."  
  
"Hey Jacob, wanna hang out with us after school?" Tai asks.  
  
"Sure," Jesse says with a faint smile while thinking, 'what luck! I can observe the older DigiDestined without having to hide or end up being conspicuous.'  
  
"I just hope you won't mind hanging out with some kids a few years younger than us as well," Matt adds, "we're going to meet my little brother, Tai's little sister, and their friends."  
  
Jesse was dumbfounded, though he didn't show it. Somehow, fate was working with him for once. He could observe all of the Japanese DigiDestined, the twelve most powerful living DigiDestined besides himself, all at once. This was definitely gonna be an interesting day.  
  
~After school~  
  
Tai, Jesse, and Matt are exiting the school, heading for one of the local parks where they will meet the other DigiDestined.  
  
"Oh Maaaaaatt!" an annoyingly sweet female voice calls out. Matt and Tai both pale instantly.  
  
"Matt, run, we'll distract her," Tai says.  
  
"I owe you big," Matt says as he takes off.  
  
"You have no idea," Tai mutters as an idea forms in his head.  
  
Jun Motomiya, the scourge of Yamato Ishida's life (and the life of every other reasonably cute boy that wasn't otherwise attached), comes running up at full speed.  
  
"Matt!" Jun calls out, "wait up!"  
  
"Hey Jun," Tai says, grabbing Jun's arm, "have you met the new guy? He just transferred here. He's from America."  
  
Jun pauses a moment, thrilled at the chance to scope out a new guy.  
  
"Jacob, this is Jun Motomiya," Tai says.  
  
Taking his cue, Jesse bows formally. "Hello. My name is Jacob Plunk."  
  
Jun eyes Jesse over, much to Jesse's discomfort. What the heck was happening to him now?  
  
Finally, Jun giggles. "You know, you're even cuter than Matt."  
  
Cold realization dawns on Jesse and he pales considerably. Tai gulps as he sees Jesse's reaction. He did not want to alienate the new kid. It just wouldn't be nice. That and Sora would probably kill him for drawing Jun's attention to anyone. That was inhumane.  
  
"Um, Jun, we gotta go," Tai says, "my friends are waiting to meet Jacob. Jacob, come on."  
  
Tai and Jesse start walking away, Jesse showing definite nervously by sweating profusely.  
  
"Can I come with you?" Jun asks.  
  
Tai just grabs Jesse's hand and takes off, pulling the older boy behind him. "RUN!"  
  
The other DigiDestined were patiently waiting for their leader. They had their Digimon with them, with Agumon waiting for Tai. Matt had been so glad to escape from Jun, not to mention traumatized by what he considered a near- death experience, that he forgot to mention that they would be introducing Jacob to the kids.  
  
"And here we are," Tai says as he and Jesse finally stop to catch their breath, though Tai is also laughing.  
  
"Whats so funny?" Matt asks, "as I recall it, Jun is no laughing matter."  
  
"Matt, I have a feeling you may no longer have to worry about Jun," Tai chuckles between gasps for air.  
  
"Well, thanks for distracting her though," Matt says. Jesse was still a deadly shade of white.  
  
"Whats wrong with Jacob?" Mimi asks.  
  
Tai's laughing comes out full force now. Jesse just glares at the second generation DigiDestined leader as he regains his normal facial color.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing really," Tai laughs, "it's just that Jun will now be fixated on Jacob instead of you Matt."  
  
"You're kidding?" Matt gasps. Several of the other DigiDestined gasp as well, including Davis. Jun, ignoring Matt for someone else? It was inconceivable!  
  
"No joke," Tai chuckles, "after looking him over for a bit, she said, and I quote, 'You know, you're even cuter than Matt.'."  
  
Jesse pales even more.  
  
"So, you're saying that now Jun will be hounding his every step instead of mine like a stalker?" Matt asks apprehensively. Impossibly, Jesse pales even more.  
  
"If she thinks he's cuter than Matt, then she'll know everything about him within an hour," Davis says.  
  
"She tried to follow us," Tai says, "at least she won't bother us if she does show up. She'll be fixated on Jesse."  
  
"And she'll be talking about him nonstop at home," Davis adds, "I really pity this guy."  
  
"You said it," the other DigiDestined, particularly the older ones, chorus.  
  
At that, Jesse hits the ground with a thud as he faints dead away.  
  
When Jesse awakens, the DigiDestined are standing over him.  
  
"Oooh, what happened?" Jesse asks.  
  
"You fainted," Tk answers.  
  
"You must be Matt's brother," Jesse comments.  
  
"How'd you know that?" Matt and Tk ask at the same time.  
  
"You look like a younger version of Matt," Jesse tells Tk.  
  
"Guess that's why Jun goes after you sometimes bro," Matt chuckles.  
  
"Yeah, but now she'll be going after Jacob here and not us," Tk points out. At being reminded of that, Jesse groans.  
  
"Now don't go fainting again," Kari says.  
  
"That's my little sister, Kari," Tai explains.  
  
"Someone mind helping me up?" Jesse asks.  
  
"Sure," Davis says as he pulls Jesse to his feet and introduces himself.  
  
"Hi, I'm Davis. Jun's my older sister, though we try not to advertise the relationship."  
  
"I can see why," Jesse says wryly, "I wouldn't want to claim someone with those dopey looking goggles on my head as a little brother either."  
  
"Hey!" Tai and Davis protest, Tai adding, "those used to be my goggles, I'll have you know."  
  
"This is Ken Ichijouji," Izzy says, introducing Ken.  
  
"Ah, the reputed world's smartest young teen," Jesse chuckles mockingly, "and local soccer star."  
  
"Great, a fan," Ken mutters sarcastically.  
  
"What, you think I'm a fan?" Jesse asks incredulously, "is sarcasm lost on you?"  
  
"This is Cody Hida," Joe says, pushing the young boy forward.  
  
"Pleased to meet you," Cody says, bowing deeply.  
  
"The pleasure is mine," Jesse says, returning the bow equally.  
  
"This is my best friend Yolie Inuoue," Kari says, introducing the lavender- haired girl.  
  
Yolie studies Jesse for a moment, who grows apprehensive.  
  
Finally, Yolie speaks. "Jun may be a loudmouth and very arrogant, but she does have good taste in guys."  
  
Jesse somehow manages to pull of half blushing and half paling.  
  
"Everyone else you already know," Tai says. Jesse nods weakly. Having his senses assaulted by human females after living for so long in the Digital World, Jesse's nerves were shot to hell.  
  
"Whats wrong?" Joe asks, seeing Jesse's sign of weakness.  
  
"I'm just not used to any kind of praise," Jesse replies, "nor am I ever comfortable around women."  
  
"You have something against women?" Yolie demands.  
  
"Frankly, yes," Jesse replies blandly, "and females like Jun are my prime reason."  
  
"Don't judge all women by Jun," Sora says indignantly. Yolie, Kari, and Mimi voice their indignation as well.  
  
"My apologies," Jesse replies, backing away with his hands in front of him palm out, "I meant no insult."  
  
"That's okay," Kari smiles, "you're definitely an interesting guy."  
  
Jesse laughs. "Me? Interesting? I'm no more interesting than any of you."  
  
"So, what do we do?" Yolie asks, unsure of what to do with someone who was not a DigiDestined in their midst.  
  
"Who wants to play soccer?" Davis asks. Most of the group groans. It had to either be Tai or Davis to suggest something like that.  
  
"Only if I get to be a goalie," Jesse says.  
  
"I'm a captain!" Tai and Davis call out in unison.  
  
"Go figure," some of the other DigiDestined murmur under their breaths. Jesse stifles a snicker. Apparently, Tai had not changed much since he had observed him during the older kids first trip to the Digital World despite being smarter and a bit more mature. And Davis was just like Tai had been at that age, only more obnoxious because he had had Tai for a role model.  
  
The DigiDestined and Jesse split up into two teams. On one team is Tai, Ken, Mimi, Matt, Izzy, Jesse, Willis, and Sora. On the other team was Davis, Tk, Kari, Cody, Yolie, Joe. Joe and Jesse served as goalies.  
  
The game ended, Tai's team winning 17-0. No matter how hard Davis' team tried, they could not get the ball past Jesse.  
  
"Jacob, where did you learn how to play like that?" Davis demands, "I've never seen someone that skilled as a goalie, not even on TV."  
  
"Just skilled, I guess," Jesse grins. Like earlier in gym class, Jesse had been using the speed and reflexes he had developed over his time as a DigiDestined and the knowledge he had learned about being a goalie from various books he had read and people he had talked to prior becoming a DigiDestined to keep the soccer ball from getting through the net.  
  
"Thinking of joining the school team?" Tk asks.  
  
"Nope," Jesse replies, "I am not interested in organized sports beyond a way to relieve stress and have some fun."  
  
"That's what he said earlier," Tai says.  
  
"Ohhh Jacob!" a familiar female voice calls out. Jesse pales instantly, as does Matt.  
  
"Oh no, its my sister," Davis grumbles. Jun comes running up, waving her arms at Jesse. Jesse gulps.  
  
"There you are," Jun says as she comes to stop right in front of Jesse, "I've been looking for you. I have a question to ask you. Do you have a girlfriend?"  
  
Jesse gulps, his eyes darting every which way for an exit. There was none. He'd just have to deal with it. And hopefully not pass out. Why did he have to act like this around girls?  
  
"Um, er, no, I don't," Jesse replies. Every other male DigiDestined present shake their head in sympathy, knowing that Jesse had just sealed his own fate. Knowing that he was unattached, Jun would hound their new friend considerably.  
  
Jun's smile brightens. "Well, would you like to go out sometime?"  
  
Jesse is now sweating bullets. If he wasn't such an honorable and nice guy, he'd ditch them all here and now. But he was, and couldn't. Though the DigiDestined might not blame him if he did it to get away from this boy- crazy female.  
  
"Um, well, er, no thanks," Jesse says nervously.  
  
"ohh, why not?" Jun demands.  
  
Matt couldn't take watching his new friends plight anymore, so he decides to intervene. "Because he's busy looking for an old friend and doesn't have time for a relationship."  
  
"Th-that's right," Jesse stammers slightly, "I moved to Japan to look for a few old friends. As soon as I find them I'll be going back home."  
  
"Oh, I see, you just don't like me," Jun says, tearing up, "you're just like all the others."  
  
With that, Jun turns around and runs off, tears in her eyes. Silence reigns among the DigiDestined until Davis finally breaks it.  
  
"Whoa, I think she actually wanted to really get to know you, Jacob," Davis says, "she never reacted that way over Matt or any other guy she had a crush on."  
  
"Nice cover story bro," Tk says, "how'd you come up with it?"  
  
"It wasn't a cover story, it was the truth," Jesse replies, "though Matt thought he was simply adding the part that I was looking for more than one old friend."  
  
"You're looking for more than one friend?" Matt asks, surprised, "who besides that one guy you told us about at lunch?"  
  
"Three others," Jesse replies, "haven't seen them in a while either."  
  
"Who are you looking for?" Izzy asks, "I can run a computer search and help you find them a whole lot faster."  
  
"Sorry, I'd rather find them myself," Jesse replies, a bit uneasily. He was treating on shaky ground now. "Well, I gotta be going. Parents gotta be worried about me."  
  
Jesse walks off, heading for the subway, though once he got to the entrance and no one was around he would open up a stealth gate, one that Izzy could not detect, that would take him back to the place he was gonna be meeting Heromon, Wizardmon, and the Digimon of the other five original DigiDestined.  
  
"So, who is this friend that Jacob is looking for?" Kari asks, "we can still help him."  
  
"Its James," Tai replies, "James Moyiyama."  
  
Kari gasps. "You mean the guy who used to babysit us?"  
  
"Yep," Tai replies.  
  
"Who is James Moyiyama?" Davis asks.  
  
"A guy we knew who used to babysit me, Kari, and Sora," Tai replies, "his family moved to America a few months before the Heighten View Terrace incident. They moved back a few years later. They live in the same building as Tk, on the second floor to be exact."  
  
"Should we go and visit them?" Yolie asks.  
  
"I wouldn't recommend it," Tai says, "after they moved back, two years later, we went and visited them. Every time someone mentioned James, Mrs. Moyiyama broke down and wept. They refused to tell us anything."  
  
"Oh my," Yolie gasps.  
  
"James Moyiyama, why does that name sound familiar?" Ken asks himself out loud.  
  
"You've heard his name before, Ken?" Tai asks, puzzled.  
  
"I've seen it somewhere," Ken replies, "Wormmon, do you remember where?"  
  
"I don't," Wormmon replies, "but I do know it. So you must have come across it sometime after you met me. I remember sadness from the name though."  
  
"Same here," Patamon replies, "and yet I can feel hope just emanating from that name. I was a free Digimon before I was reformatted and became Tk's partner. But those memories are still largely blocked for some reason. But I seem to remember the name James Moyiyama from those memories."  
  
"Do you suppose James Moyiyama was one of the original five DigiDestined?" Ken suggests, "ten years ago, it would fit. And if he never returned, that could be why his parents grieve so."  
  
"Now I remember where I saw that name!" Wormmon declares.  
  
"What is it?" Tai asks, "where did you see James' name?"  
  
"When Ken and I first entered the Digital World, when we fought Milleniummon, we came across an old castle," Wormmon begins, "everything within the castle was spatially distorted and very weird, even for the Digital World. We came across a set of stairs that led to an underground chamber. A very large underground chamber. Set there were five graves, and each had a name on it and a Digivice engraved into the tombstone. Four of them had very similar writings on them. Each of them said 'Here Lies', then one of four names, then 'They Died To Save The World.' The four names were Brian Tangit, Samantha Cruger, Daniel Cruger, and James Moyiyama."  
  
"James!" Tai, Sora, and Kari gasp.  
  
"They died?" Davis gapes.  
  
"What did the fifth one say, Wormmon?" Ken asks.  
  
"We didn't have a chance to find out," Wormmon replies, "Jesse showed up and ran us off. He was extremely angry. I was afraid he would attack us. Ryo was as well. So we left. Soon after that Milleniummon showed up and then we fought and defeated him. We barely beat him. That was when Ken got that Dark Spore."  
  
"And that began the slow build-up to the birth of the Digimon Emperor," Ken says sadly.  
  
"Quit blaming yourself, Ken," Matt chides the younger teen, "you couldn't help it. The Dark Spore fed on your inner darkness and increased it."  
  
Ken sighs. "I know, but still. I just can't help but feel responsible."  
  
"Izzy, any word from Gennai?" Tai asks.  
  
"None," Izzy replies, "and that is strange. Since the defeat of MaloMyotismon he's replied to every e-mail I've sent him within the same day."  
  
"So something big really is happening, just like Jesse said," Kari says, "but what is it? Does it have something to do with that evil laughter we heard?"  
  
"I don't know, but I could have sworn I've heard three versions of that same laugh," Tk says.  
  
"I feel like I've only heard two versions," Tai says. The other DigiDestined nod their agreement, even Ken.  
  
"There's no enemy that all of us have faced except MaloMyotismon, but it wasn't exactly his laugh," Tk says, "it was more like Myotismon's."  
  
"It reminded me of Myotismon's laugh," Gatomon agrees, "not either of his Mega forms, just plain Myotismon."  
  
"But what about the other way we remember it?" Joe asks, "what could it mean?"  
  
"Two enemies with a similar laugh," Tai says, "evil enemies. But I can't place who else it made me think of."  
  
"It made me think of Daemon," Ken remarks.  
  
"That's who it reminds me of as well," Yolie says. Cody, Kari, and Tk nod their agreement.  
  
"But we've never heard Daemon laugh," Sora remarks, "so it wasn't him that it also reminds us of."  
  
"It made me think of Devimon," Matt says softly. Hearing that, cold realization hits Tk.  
  
"It made me think of all three of them!" Tk exclaims, "Devimon, Myotismon, and Daemon. Like all three of them laughing at the same time."  
  
"And you're the only one of us who has faced them all," Izzy says, "but still, what could it mean?"  
  
"Perhaps it doesn't mean anything," Patamon says, "just that Tk has helped us realize that this threat is some sort of combination of those three."  
  
"But how?" Tentomon demands, "Devimon is trapped in the Dark Whirlpool, Daemon is stuck in the Dark Ocean, and MaloMyotismon is dead."  
  
"Do Digimon ever truly die in the Digital World?" Tk asks, "the only Digimon who have truly died are those who were killed in the real world, except for Myotismon. Perhaps he still lives."  
  
"If that is the case, then we may be in serious trouble," Izzy says, "how could we beat something that cannot die?"  
  
"We'll find a way," Tk says, "after all, we did defeat Apocalymon, and he was supposed to be the most powerful Digimon."  
  
"True," Agumon says, "but Digimon can grow a lot more powerful as they age and train. If you remember, the Dark Masters took us apart at first, then we came back and whupped 'em!"  
  
"That's true as well," Izzy says, "but how old are Daemon, Myotismon, and Devimon?"  
  
"Well, Myotismon and Devimon have both had to reformat," Gabumon says, "when a Digimon reformats, it loses half the strength its gained on top of its natural strength. Daemon is probably incredibly strong after spending months in the Dark Ocean."  
  
"And then there's the Dark Undersea Master of the Scubamon," Kari adds, "Don't forget him."  
  
"He could very well be our most dangerous foe right now," Ken says, "that Dark Undersea Master is a Dragomon who fought the original DigiDestined and was trapped in the Dark Ocean. And time in the Dark Ocean perfectly mirrors time in the Digital World."  
  
"So that Dragomon is two million years old," Izzy remarks as he brings up the stats of a standard Dragomon on his computer, "Dragomon are Ultimate level Sea Animal Digimon. Its main attack is Tentacle Claw, though each one also comes up with a custom attack. Wait, there's an add-on file tot his."  
  
Izzy opens up the added file and gulps.  
  
"What is it Izzy?" Mimi asks.  
  
"This is apparently a file on the Dragomon that is in the Dark Ocean," Izzy replies, "this file is old an probably obsolete by now, but it's a start to guess how strong that Dragomon has gotten. Standard attack, extra attack is Nightmare Blades. Power levels are comparable to that of MetalSeadramon!"  
  
"An Ultimate as strong as a Mega?" Davis gapes.  
  
"Hey, MagnaAngemon is as strong as any Mega," Tk protests, "what else is there Izzy? After two million years in the Dark Ocean, how strong would this Dragomon be?"  
  
"Let me calculate it," Izzy says, typing fast, "okay, this is assuming that there was nothing there those two million years to give it a challenge in battle. Given that guess, it would now be as strong as Imperialdramon Fighter Mode!"  
  
"What?!" the various DigiDestined and Digimon gasp.  
  
"How is that possible?"  
  
"And we'll have to fight that thing?"  
  
"That's suicide!"  
  
"How can an Ultimate level Digimon become that strong?"  
  
"Please, calm down!" Izzy yells/commands. The DigiDestined and Digimon instantly shut up. Izzy rarely raised his voice, but they all knew he meant business when he did.  
  
"We're not going to get anywhere worrying," Izzy says calmly, "Jesse said he'll get us our Tags and Crests again, so we all may be able to reach the Mega level. Seven, possibly as many as thirteen Mega's against an Ultimate, any Ultimate, will be in the favor of the Mega's. And remember, there's still Omnimon and Imperialdramon Fighter Mode, plus Seraphimon and Magnadramon as well. No evil Digimon can stand up to all that, with one of the Mega's being a High Angel Digimon and another being a Holy Dragon Digimon. And isn't Lopmon's Mega form Cherubimon, also an Angel Digimon? We got this fight in the bag. We have to really worry about whatever has Jesse worried. He knows our capabilities and his and he's still worried."  
  
Tai rubs his head. "That's true, Izzy, but what if Dragomon somehow digivolves to Mega?"  
  
Izzy gulps. "Then, we might be in trouble."  
  
Cody checks his watch. "Uh oh, I gotta go home. Mom and grandpa will be worried about me if I don't get home at a certain time. Plus I have homework."  
  
"I'll walk ya home Cody," Tk says, "mom needs me home for dinner anyway."  
  
"I'll walk with you two," Yolie says, "we do live in the same building anyway, and I gotta set up for dinner anyhow."  
  
"Okay guys, see ya tomorrow," Tk says as he, Cody, and Yolie stand up to head home, "tell Jacob I wish him good luck in avoiding Jun."  
  
Davis groans as Tk, Yolie, and Cody head off.  
  
"Whats wrong Davis?" Kari asks.  
  
"I just remembered that Jun is gonna grill all I know about Jacob out of me, and it'll never be enough," Davis whines. The older DigiDestined chuckle. Davis gleres at them indignantly. "Shut up! Do you have any idea how much Jun can torture me? I have to resort to ExVeemon to keep her from going ballistic on me about you sometimes Matt. And now its just gonna be much, much worse."  
  
"Well, Davis, I feel for you, I really do," Tai says, putting his hand on the younger DigiDestined leader's shoulder, "but can I have my goggles back before Jun creams you and possibly breaks them?"  
  
Davis huffs. "Only if one of you guys can talk your and my parents into letting me stay over for tonight to avoid Jun."  
  
"I can do it," Izzy offers. Everyone looks at him oddly. "What? Did I say something wrong?"  
  
"Izzy, you've never let any of us stay over at your house," Joe points out.  
  
"What can I say, I really feel sorry for Davis right now," Izzy replies, "I'm glad I'm credited as being too much of a geek for Jun to spot me."  
  
"Thanks Izzy," Davis says, "you may have saved my life."  
  
Izzy sweatdrops. "Right. Anyway, lets go. My mom's making casserole tonight."  
  
"So's our mom," Tai groans, "but I'd rather eat anything I made when I was four."  
  
"Tai, all you made when you were four was egg soup," Kari points out.  
  
"Still, better than mom's casserole," Tai replies.  
  
"Good point," Kari says.  
  
"Well guys, I gotta go," Sora says, "I promised my mom I'd help her with the flower arrangements for a wedding next week."  
  
"Bye Sora!" Matt waves as the redhead runs off with Yokomon in her backpack.  
  
The remaining DigiDestined head off at different times, finally leaving Matt alone. The blonde looks up at the sky, wishing that he could see the stars through the city lights.  
  
"This is gonna be a big battle Tsunomon," Matt says.  
  
"I know," Tsunomon replies, "come on, lets go home. But I think we need to stop by the store first. I emptied out the fridge today. What was that meat with fuzzy stuff on it?"  
  
Matt chuckles.  
  
"What?" Tusnomon demands, "did I say something funny?"  
  
"It's nothing Tsunomon," Matt replies as he stands up and heads for the subway, "its nothing.  
  
~in the Digital World~  
  
"Well, Heromon, Wizardmon, its almost time," Jesse says, still in his school disguise, "in a month I'll have gathered all the information I'll need to know who to pair with whom when they go off searching."  
  
"Are you sure we have a month?" Wizardmon asks.  
  
"It'll take a little over a month for the Beast to reform itself," Jesse replies, "perhaps a month and a half at the least. That'll be plenty of time for the plan to come together and for everything to be in place."  
  
"I hope this plan works," Heromon says, "Jesse, are we gonna get Ryo?"  
  
"We'd have to travel to the Southern Quadrant on foot and then enter their real world," Jesse replies, "plus the Southern Quadrant is still in a state of repair from the D-Reaper. I still can't believe that humans are responsible for the bridging of the human and Digital worlds."  
  
"Much less humans of the Southern Quadrant," Wizardmon says, "by the way, which Quadrant is File Island on?"  
  
"None," Jesse replies, "it's dead center. One of the two center's, at least. The other is the where the remains of Spiral Mountain are at."  
  
"So we have a month," Heromon says, "think that'll be long enough to get the other three prepped for battle?"  
  
"Phoenixmon hasn't moved in over two million years," Jesse says, "she'll be way out of shape for battle, but very strong once she taps into her true power. Tapirmon has fought off and on, as has Digitamamon. We have a chance. And we have to take it. If a single thing goes wrong, all of existence is doomed. But I'll give my life to make sure that that doesn't happen."  
  
"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that," Wizardmon says as he looks at the screen that is before him.  
  
On it are several Digital Symbols, the greatest powers of the Digital World: Courage, Friendship, Love, Knowledge, Sincerity, Reliability, Kindness, Miracles, Destiny, Compassion, Spirit, Wisdom, Integrity, Perseverance, Faith, Honor, Light, Hope, and Life. The Crests of Digivolution. Yes, there were the Crest Digi Eggs and the Crest weapons, but the Crests themselves were the truest sources of power. And on this screen was detailed information on how to summon forth the physical manifestations of each, the conduit for the power of the Crests of Digivolution: the Tags, the Crests, and the Crest Digi Eggs.  
  
It would take a month to forge them. And a month was all they could afford.  
  
The final battle was coming, and if the DigiDestined aren't prepared, then everything would be doomed.  
  
~~  
  
Sorry to you Jun fans out there. I'm just portraying Jun as close as I can to the show. I'm actually a big fan of Jun's and hate the way a lot of authors portray her. Depending on how long this story is, and how much time is spent focusing on the high school stuff, Jesse snooping out the DigiDestined and things like that, you will see Jun change into a less whiny person.  
  
Boy, this chapter sure took a while. Even though this whole story is a rewrite, this chapter alone takes it farther than the original went. Basically everything is the same up until after the first day of school where Tai takes Jesse to meet the rest of the DigiDestined.  
  
Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think of it. 


	4. Chapter Three: Destiny Returns

Disclaimer: Only own Jesse, Heromon, the Crest Weapons, the other original DigiDestined, and a few of the Crests. Other than that, I don't even have two bucks to rub together.  
  
And though I wish I was able to write the full month of school that takes place between the last chapter and this one, I'm unable to for various reasons. The least of them being that I am not that good at writing such scenes. Which probably explains why one of my DBZ fics isn't doing so well.  
  
~~  
  
Twenty days have passed since Jesse has joined the older DigiDestined at Odaiba High School under the guise of Jacob to observe them for selecting who would be going on an important mission. A multi-part mission. He had just finished forging the new Crests, Tags, and Crest Digi Eggs the night before. And so far he had managed to become a good friend of the newer generations of DigiDestined without revealing who he was.  
  
Unfortunately, he had terrible luck in avoiding Jun Motomiya, Davis' big sister. She had the potential to become a DigiDestined, and he could easily make her a DigiDestined if he wanted to, but he did NOT want the headache he would cause for himself in doing so. So the older Motomiya sibling remained a civilian who was 'in the know' about Digimon.  
  
Also, several Digimon had attacked various parts of the world in this time. Most were random Digimon attacks, but the ones in Odaiba never were. Jesse had intervened a time or two, revealing some of his partner's powers as well as his own ability to fight like a Digimon. Needless to say, the other DigiDestined were stunned, though Izzy was going crazy over the idea of a human being able to fight like a Digimon. He used a technique he had learned, specifically it was that of a Bakemon's, to slightly shapeshift to make it seem that he still had his goatee. He did not want them making any judgments that he and Jacob looked alike before he revealed himself to them.  
  
As Jacob, he had unfortunately been caught up in a few Digimon attacks. He had managed to pass off the story that he knew little about Digimon. In a short coma during Myotismon's attack and the subsequent appearance of the Digital World afterwards. Eye surgery was his excuse for not knowing about MaloMyotismon shrouding the world in darkness. As for Digimon appearing all over the world the previous Christmas, he simply shot that off as being in a cabin out in the woods with his family for a cozy Christmas. It had not been easy convincing them of any of his stories, but he had managed it.  
  
And finally, the American DigiDestined Willis had arrived in Japan. He didn't go to school with the others, as he had graduated from college when he was only eleven. He had been taking classes at Colorado Tech when he was eight. He still hung out with them after school though, giving 'Jacob' a chance to get to know him and draw out the essential energies he would need to create Willis' Tag and Crest as well as summon his Golden Digi Egg of Destiny so Willis would be able to use it whenever he desired. Of course, that meant Jesse would also have to reforge his Digivice into a D-3, but that was easily done.  
  
It is the final day of Jesse's charade. Today he would reveal himself to the DigiDestined. His plan was simple: gather the DigiDestined together, drop the disguise, and hand out the Tags, Crests, and Crest Digi Eggs. Too bad fate was working against him again.  
  
On the way to school, a Digimon realized ten feet in front of him. It was a Karatenmon, a Wizard Digimon that wielded a pair of straight swords. It had a pair of raven-like wings sticking out of its back, purple chest armor and arm and leg gauntlets and a purplish-black helmet on its raven-like head. Jesse knew its attack to be Cross Sword, a strong attack for an Ultimate level Digimon.  
  
Jesse had to instantly summon Heromon and his Crest Weapon of Honor to control the Karatenmon. Currently, Jesse and Heromon were doing fairly well, but this Karatenmon was having its power boosted by an outside source and was able to keep up with both Jesse and Heromon, who normally could take on most Ultimate level Digimon and have a fair chance at defeating them.  
  
The battle was currently taking them dangerously close to Odaiba High. If Jesse could not redirect the battle, then the civilians at the school were in trouble. And that was unacceptable. Jesse had not sacrificed living alone, fighting almost nonstop for two million years to allow civilians to be harmed in any way.  
  
"Heromon, we gotta break away long enough for you to digivolve!" Jesse calls out as he blocks another slash from Karatenmon.  
  
"I know," Heromon grunts as he takes a kick to the gut, "but we got nothing to distract him with."  
  
"Bunny Blast!" "Blazing Ice!" A pair of small blasts, one a small ball of energy, the other a spray of flaming ice, hit Karatenmon in the back.  
  
"That's it Terriermon, Lopmon!" It was Willis, the strongest American DigiDestined next to Jesse himself, and the only DigiDestined with two partners. Of course, Terriermon and Lopmon were twins, though all of the other cases of someone having one of them, a sibling was the partner of the other. Usually it was a twin. He stood up to level with Jesse's chest. His blue eyes showed that he would not be running from this fight. His short- cropped blonde hair bristled, showing that the kid did know that he was in over his head.  
  
"Terriermon, Lopmon, digivolve!" Willis cried out as his Digivice began to glow, sending energy to Willis' two partners. The two rabbit-like Digimon begin to glow as they are filled with energy from the Digivice.  
  
"Terriermon digivolve to Gargomon!" Terriermon calls out as he becomes the gun-hand toting Gargmon.  
  
"Gargmon, Champion level Animal Digimon, Vaccine type, attacks are Gargo Laser and Animal Uppercut," Jesse mutters as he spots the strong Champion. Gargomon was one of those Champion level Digimon who were stronger than the norm, capable of dealing with even an Ultimate level Digimon if it was not too powerful. But it was out of its league with this Karatenmon.  
  
"Lopmon digivolve to Turuiemon!" Lopmon calls out as he becomes his true Champion form, not that of Endigomon, the Digimon that had hounded Willis and Terriermon for four years after the defeat of Diaboromon. Turuiemon was a lean Digimon, wearing a yellow gi top and pants and a blue bandanna. Turuiemon was purple, with the tips of its ears and its muzzle being white. It had on a pair of dark red gloves with special claws attached to them that could snap from their resting position against the back of the gloves to the forward position, where Turuiemon could hack and slash with them.  
  
"Turuiemon, Champion level Animal Digimon, Vaccine type, attacks are Turuie Claws and Turuie Tempest," Jesse mutters to himself. Turuiemon was also one of those rare Digimon with natural strength high on the listing for their digivolution level. Turuiemon was a perfect partner for Gargomon. Gargomon excelled at long-range combat whereas Turiemon excelled at close range combat.  
  
"Gargo Laser!" Hundreds of small energy blasts erupted from the gatling arms of Gargomon as Turiemon leapt into the air, its claws snapping into attack position.  
  
"Turuie Claws!" Turuiemon's claws began to glow a fierce orange as he came down on Karatenmon, grabbing Karatenmon's head with his left hand and slashing into its chest with the other claw. Karatenmon is knocked back by the force of the punch, but is otherwise unfazed by it. He proceeds to headbutt Turuiemon and then ram his fist into the Champion's gut, his sword still in hand. He then spins and delivers a spinning back kick to Turiemon's gut that sends it flying into Gargomon.  
  
"Warrior Beam!" A beam of yellow-green energy rips into Karatenmon's left wing. Silently the Ultimate cursed himself for forgetting that all a Digimon needed was a few seconds to digivolve, particularly from one level to the level above it. And he had just allowed one of, if not the, most powerful Rookie's to digivolve into its even more powerful Champion form. The Karatenmon knew that it might not be able to withstand the power that Warriormon possessed on its own and still be able to carry out its mission.  
  
Karatenmon turns around to face his opponent. Warriormon was humanoid in shape, possessing a formidable-looking double-edged sword with digital symbols etched into the blade. For the most part he looked human, only he possessed full torso armor that was designed like Magnamon's chest armor, only silver in color instead of gold. He bore a helmet designed like the ones that Angemon and Angewomon wore, but it covered his jaw as well, leaving his mouth uncovered. Shoulder-length blonde hair flowed underneath the helmet. At his waist was the scabbard for the sword that was currently being gripped with both hands. Silver armored leggings adorned his waist and legs, and mesh-metal boots adorned his feet. Ornate gauntlets were attached to his forearms.  
  
"So you're the fabled Warriormon, are you?" Karatenmon asks, sounding unimpressed.  
  
"I am," Warriormon replies, "I may only be a Champion level Digimon, but I am one of the most powerful Warrior Digimon of all. You just felt my Warrior Beam. And seeing as how it singed your left wing fairly badly at only half power, I'd say you're screwed."  
  
"So you think!" Karatenmon growls before leaping at Warriormon, hacking with the blade in his left hand, which is promptly blocked by Heromon's sword. Karatenmon then executes a spinning back slash aimed at Heromon's head. Heromon ducks, the jumps and delivers a dropkick to Karatenmon's back.  
  
Karatenmon recovers quickly, thrusting in an 'X' pattern at Heromon with both blades. Heromon simply backflips, kicking the blades up in the process. He lands on his feet and leaps at Karatenmon, checking him into the side of a nearby building.  
  
Warriormon raises his left hand, the palm facing Karatenmon and the thumb folded in. "Warrior Beam!"  
  
The yellowish-green blast of energy rips out of the center of the palm, aimed right at Karatenmon.  
  
"Nail Bone!" A spiky yellow blast of energy collides with the Warrior Beam attack, causing them both to explode. Jesse looks up to see a SkullSatamon perched on a nearby abandoned bus and groans. SkullSatamon were strong, Ultimate level Ghost Digimon. Their attacks were Nail Bone and Skull Hammer. SkullSatamon were also among the fastest Digimon of all. And with Karatenmon to distract him, Warriormon was at a disadvantage.  
  
"About time you got here!" Karatenmon snarls at SkullSatamon as he picks himself up and gets back to his feet, "I almost got deleted!"  
  
"But you weren't, so shut up!" SkullSatamon growls, "I'll take care of the human. Take this and eliminate his partner."  
  
SkullSatamon throws a dark sphere of energy at Karatenmon, who absorbs the energy through his chest. Karatenmon begins to glow a blackish-purple color as his power level goes up high enough to rival Warriormon's.  
  
"We may be in trouble," Warriormon mutters as he feels the change in Karatenmon's power, "whatever that was, it just boosted Karatenmon's strength even higher."  
  
"You're right!" Karatenmon snarls as he leaps forward at Warriormon, hacking and slashing with both blades at incredible speed.  
  
"Nail Bone!" Jesse jumps to the side to dodge the energy attack sent at him from SkullSatamon. This was definitely not good. Jesse knew he might possibly have the strength alone to defeat a Digimon as strong as SkullSatamon, but he definitely did not have the speed. But he didn't have a choice.  
  
"Skull Hammer!" Jesse backflips to avoid SkullSatamon's staff. The staff sends up sparks of dark energy as it collides with the ground, creating a small indent in the street. Jesse strikes, slamming his Crest Weapon of Honor, a double-edged sword with the symbol of Honor on it, onto the middle of SkullSatamon's staff. The staff does not yield to the mighty blade and SkullSatamon swings his staff up, attempting to get Jesse off balance.  
  
It doesn't work and Jesse delivers a spinning roundhouse kick to SkullSatamon's torso, knocking the dark Ultimate back several feet. He follows up by dashing at SkullSatamon and leaping into the air, trailing his sword along SkullSatamon's torso as he leapt into the air. The attack does little to affect SkullSatamon and he merely aims the end of his staff with the orb directly at Jesse and attacks point blank.  
  
"Nail Bone!"  
  
~Odaiba high~  
  
The day had barely started and already Tai was bored. And Jacob had not shown up yet. Which was strange. Izzy had told him that Jacob had always arrived at school before he did, and Izzy arrived right as the night janitors were leaving! What was more, Tai could faintly hear the sounds of what could only be a rampaging Digimon. He sincerely hoped that Willis was nearby and could handle it. If not, then hopefully Jesse would appear again and take the threat out.  
  
A large flash of yellow catches Tai's attention. He turns his head to see something heading straight for the classroom. Before he could raise a yell of alarm, it crashed right through the window and slammed into the wall on the other size of the room, then slumped to the floor.  
  
Tai and the other DigiDestined that were in the class rushed over to whatever it was only to be shocked when they saw their friend Jacob standing back up. When 'Jacob' sees the DigiDestined, his face slumps.  
  
"Aw crap," 'Jacob' curses. And it was not his voice that came from him. It was Jesse's voice.  
  
Every one of the DigiDestined were completely dumbfounded, not having expected that.  
  
"Listen, I'll explain later, duck," Jesse says. The DigiDestined do as he says just in time to avoid another Nail Bone that slams into Jesse and throws him through the wall and into the classroom across the hall, startling everyone in that class as well.  
  
Jesse picks himself back up and shakes his head to clear it. He looks around to see the stunned expressions on his classmates' faces. "Eh, sorry about that. Don't have time to explain right now."  
  
Jesse runs back across the hall to see SkullSatamon standing at the window he had crashed through a minute ago.  
  
"Ah, I see you're still alive," SkullSatamon laughs, "good, good. I wanted to feel your blood of my when I killed you up close and personal."  
  
"You won't get the chance," Jesse snarls, twirling his sword around until the tip was pointed at the ceiling, "Spectral Force!"  
  
The Crest Weapon of Honor begins to glow a ghostly shade of green before taking on the characteristics of a Knightmon's Berserk Sword attack. Jesse slashes at SkullSatamon, launching the attack. SkullSatamon jumps back and avoids the attack. Jesse runs and leaps out the window, startling everyone in the class. The classroom was on the second floor of the school.  
  
Jesse lands seamlessly on the ground, his joints only slightly protesting the shock of the landing. He hadn't been able to keep up his physical training regimen during his time at school, observing the DigiDestined, and his body had somewhat gotten out of shape. And that small amount of conditioning could mean life and death right now. The partners of the other DigiDestined were at their homes right now, and if SkullSatamon got past him he could easily kill the older kids of the second generation of DigiDestined. And if that happened, then the worlds could easily be doomed.  
  
Jesse leaps at SkullSatamon, his sword ready to strike. SkullSatamon blocks with his staff, then whirls his staff around, deflecting Jesse's blade and countering with a strike aimed at Jesse's head. But two million years in the Digital World had honed Jesse's fighting reflexes beyond a normal humans, and he backflips midair, kicking SkullSatamon's staff up into the air.  
  
When Jesse lands, he calls out 'Spectral Force' and sends a blast very much like SkullSatamon's very own Nail Bone right into SkullSatamon. The blast drives SkullSatamon back and damages him, but the Digimon recovers quickly. He snaps back with his Skull Hammer attack, but it is met with Jesse's sword, effectively blocking the attack.  
  
Jesse drops and kicks SkullSatamon's legs out from under him with a low spinning sweep kick, then continues spinning and delivers a spinning roundhouse kick to the side of SkullSatamon's head. Shrugging the attack off, SkullSatamon drives his left fist into Jesse's gut, sending him crashing into the side of the school, gasping for air.  
  
"Gargo Laser!" Hundreds of tiny bursts of energy hit SkullSatamon's right side. He turns disdainfully to see Gargomon and Turuiemon ready for battle.  
  
"Nail Bone!" The yellow bolt of energy careens towards Gargomon, but is knocked aside by a 'Spectral Force' attack that was very similar to SkullSatamon's own Nail Bone. The 'Spectral Force' hits the Nail Bone and the two attacks explode.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" Jesse demands hotly, "you two are no match for an Ultimate of SkullSatamon's speed! You're not strong or fast enough!"  
  
"So says the human who fights Digimon on his own," Gargomon retorts.  
  
"I've been doing this a long time, you nitwits!" Jesse yells as he runs over to join Gargomon and Turuiemon, "you two are fairly inexperienced. You have a lot of potential power, but if you get yourselves deleted and reformatted, it'll stunt your growth tremendously! Wormmon had tremendous power before he got himself reformatted when he offered himself up to give Magnamon the energy he needed to stop Kimeramon. He could have taken on this SkullSatamon no problem, but getting reformatted cost him greatly."  
  
"Hey, we can take care of ourselves!" Turuiemon tells Jesse.  
  
"I'm sure you can, Jesse says evenly, "against other Champions and against Rookies. Perhaps even against some Ultimates, but not this one!"  
  
"Then let us help you," Gargomon says, "your obviously not strong enough to take out this SkullSatamon on your own either."  
  
"I am, but it would cost me a great deal that I would rather not pay," Jesse admits, "so I guess I will have to work with you. Gargomon, you keep peppering SkullSatamon with your Gargo Laser. Turuiemon, you and I will try to keep him relatively penned down where Gargomon's Gargo Laser can accumulate some damage, hopefully slow him down more."  
  
"Gotcha," Turuiemon says before leaping at SkullSatamon, "Turuie Claws!"  
  
Turuiemon does a double slash with her claws, sending two waves of energy at SkullSatamon. SkullSatamon is about to leap out of the attacks way, but he instantly gets peppered with Gargomon's Gargo Laser. Jesse does a double slash with his sword, calling out 'Spectral Force' once again, this time his attack taking on the characteristics of Snimon's Twin Sickle attack. The distraction of the Gargo Laser lasts long enough for Turiemon's attack to hit SkullSatamon unawares. He turns to glares at the Champion level Animal Digimon only to be hit by Jesse's attack.  
  
The trio keeps this up as best they can, sometimes either Turuiemon or Jesse's attack would get through, but it was still evident that Gargomon's Gargo Laser was slowly wearing SkullSatamon down. Jesse could already see small chinks in the Ghost Digimon's armor beginning to form. Taking this as a good sign, Jesse decides to up the ante of his attacks.  
  
Focusing a bit more power, he changes from using an attack like Snimon's Twin Sickle to an attack that was used by an ancient Digimon of legend, Beowulfmon, sometimes called AncientGarurumon, by raising his sword, tip pointed at the sky and the blade parallel to the ground, above his head, to use the attack known as Frozen Hunter.  
  
"Spectral Force!" Around Jesse, a the greenish energy of his attack forms around him until it coalesces into the basic form of a wolf with glowing ruby red eyes. Jesse brings the sword down until the tip is pointed at SkullSatamon. At that moment the energy wolf charges at SkullSatamon, slamming into the Ghost Digimon with incredible power. The attack drives SkullSatamon back until he slams into the side of a school bus. SkullSatamon slowly picks himself out of the wreckage and leaps into the air.  
  
"Skull Hammer!" Jesse and Gargomon both leap out of the way as SkullSatamon's staff slams into the concrete right where the two of them had just been, forming a small crater.  
  
Jesse hits the ground and rolls back to his feet, facing SkullSatamon and holding the hilt of his sword with both hands, one hand on each side of the blade. Energy gathers at the base of the blade and slowly travels up the blades length until it reaches the tip, where it forms a ball of greenish energy. "Spectral Force!"  
  
The attack launches from Jesse's sword, hitting SkullSatamon in the side of the head and blasting right through it. A second later SkullSatamon bursts into data and the data disperses.  
  
"Well, that's that," Jesse mutters, "now to go and help Warriormon."  
  
Warriormon appears beside Jesse. "No need. Karatenmon did become stronger with that black energy filling him, but he was still no match for me."  
  
"Good," Jesse says, "but now I'm gonna have to figure out what my next move is. I can't go to school now. But how am I gonna contact the DigiDestined?"  
  
"Jacob, what are you talking about?" Jesse turns around to see Willis standing behind him. "What happened to your voice?"  
  
"Funny story that," Jesse says, fidgeting, "just tell the DigiDestined to gather at the usual place and I'll explain all. Voice no theories, got it!"  
  
"Got it," Willis says, though it is evident that he has a few suspicions now. With a nod, Jesse and Warriormon rush off and open a Digi Port, entering it and disappearing into the Digital World.  
  
~later that day~  
  
The younger DigiDestined (Tk, Kari, Cody, Yolie, Ken, Davis, and Willis) are gathered at the usual spot for meetings: the center of Odaiba Park under a large tree. They are waiting for the older DigiDestined and Jacob to show. Willis has not yet said anything about Jacob helping out in the Digimon attack, though he no longer thinks it is Jacob. As per 'Jacob's' wishes, he has not said anything about his suspicions.  
  
"Hey guys." It was Tai and the older DigiDestined, sans Jacob.  
  
"Hey, where's Jacob?" Davis asks.  
  
"Not sure," Tai answers, "there was a Digimon attack earlier. Jacob was part of it. Thing is, he was fighting the Digimon. Like Jesse does."  
  
A voice floats down from the branches of the tree they were sitting under. "And I'm sure Izzy figured out that the two of us are one and the same."  
  
The DigiDestined gasp and look up. Jesse flips on the branch he was on and hooks his legs at the knees around it, balancing himself hanging upside down now. Half his face is like it normally is now, the other half is under his disguise that he uses to continue looking like he used to.  
  
"Is he Jesse, or is he Jacob?" Jesse asks with a crazy grin, his face changing fully into his old face then into 'Jacob's' face as he speaks then changing back to half and half, "or maybe neither name belongs to him and are just alias'. Or maybe he doesn't exist at all."  
  
Jesse lets go of the tree branch and twists mid-air to land on his feet. He straightens himself and grins at the bewildered looks the DigiDestined were giving him.  
  
"Well, now that I've had my fun shocking all of you," Jesse says, letting his disguise go and looking like 'Jacob', which was now how he really looked, "I suppose its time for some explanations."  
  
It was Davis who managed to speak the one thing on each DigiDestined's mind. "Wha- how?"  
  
Jesse laughs. "Confusion is to be expected. To put it simple, I had various things that needed to be done without your knowledge. I've been working on creating your Tags and Crests once again and I needed to be near you to draw out the special energies that you exert during your normal routine. Well, normal now anyway. Each of your Crests represented the true essence of what you lacked when you first became a DigiDestined, or something that you did not accept existed in the cases of Davis and Willis. Except for Kari and Tk, all of you lacked a true understanding of what your Crest symbolizes when you first became a DigiDestined."  
  
"What do you mean?" Yolie asks, "and Cody, Davis, Willis, and I don't have Crests."  
  
"Every DigiDestined has a Crest," Jesse says, "there are many in the world with the same Crests as you, but their Crest power is not as great or pure as yours. Also, those of you with Crest Digi Eggs have a bit of the power that is in that Crest Digi Eggs nature. You could have one of those Crests if you are needed to fulfill a prophecy saying that there should be, oh, two Bearers of the Crest of Reliability and two bearers of the Crest of Sincerity."  
  
"So that's why you deceived us?" Izzy accuses.  
  
"Oh no, that wasn't my only reason," Jesse replies, "but I'll get to that later. Right now, I'm just gonna be giving you your Tags and Crests."  
  
Jesse holds up six golden Tags and tosses them to the six older DigiDestined. He produces six more and tosses them to the younger DigiDestined. He pulls out one last Tag and tosses it to Willis. Each DigiDestined catches their Tag and examines it.  
  
"Hey, where are the Crests?" Tai asks.  
  
"Ken already has his Crest," Jesse says, "I do assume that you have it, right Ken?"  
  
"I do," Ken says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the Crest of Kindness. It begins to glow a pale purple and then floats out of Ken's hand and slides into Ken's Tag.  
  
"One down, twelve to go," Jesse says, "okay, those of you that have wielded a Crest before, it will be easier for you to get yours back. Just focus on your Crest, the exact emotions you were feeling when it first activated. Think hard and let that feeling seep through your entire body. Let it permeate your entire being. Make it so that you cannot tell where the border between your entire being and your Crest is unable to be defined."  
  
Tai, Matt, Izzy, Sora, Joe, Mimi, Tk, and Kari each think about when their Crests first activated.  
  
Tai reflected back to when Etemon was seemingly invincible, when he had merged with his Dark Network and gained phenomenal power, he did not back down. His courage gave Greymon the strength needed to digivolve to MetalGreymon. MetalGreymon's power was incredible, even for an Ultimate. The power MretalGreymon had had been enough to destroy Etemon. And the source of that courage had been the knowledge that he was in the Digi World to fight evil like Etemon, and had the power to do it. Tai let that feeling seep into him as his Crest of Courage began to reappear within his Tag and glowed with phenomenal light and power.  
  
Matt thought back to when he and Joe had been stuck in Digitamamon's restaurant, trying to work off the bill they had accumulated. He could have left at any time, but he didn't because Joe needed him. Joe had been a klutz, dropping dishes and the like, increasing the amount of money they had to work off every day. But Matt stuck by him. He would not abandon someone in need of help. When Tai and Tk showed up, he was happy. Tai had returned and he had brought Matt's little brother with him. And then Digitamamon was revealed to be a bad guy. Garurumon and Ikkakumon had been overwhelmed by the evil egg until Joe had to save Tk from some falling masonry. That had been when Matt realized that Joe had always been trying his hardest and been a true friend. That feeling, the true, pure friendship, had overwhelmed Matt and that was when his Crest of Friendship had first began to glow. At that moment when this feeling is relived, Matt's Crest of Friendship reforms within his Tag and glows a fierce blue, radiating power and camaraderie.  
  
Izzy thinks back to when he and Tentomon had been tricked by Vademon. Izzy's had given up his curiosity and Tentomon had de-digivolved all the way back to his Micro form, Pabumon. Pabumon had given it his all to get Izzy his curiosity back, to break the spell Vademon had over him. Pabumon succeeded, and together they regained Izzy's Tag and Crest, Digivice, and curiosity. Then Vademon attacked them. Izzy had been extremely angry with Vademon tricking him into giving up his desire to learn. Then he felt a strange warmth emanate from his Tag and Crest, and light burst from his Digivice and Crest in unison and struck Kabuterimon. The moment the memory of when Izzy's crest first lit up was relived, Izzy's Crest of Knowledge reforms within his Tag and glows a deep purple, radiating power and Izzy's desire to learn.  
  
Sora thought back to when she didn't even think her crest of Love would ever light up. She hadn't thought that she knew what love was because of the way her mother had treated her. Then Biyomon had gotten hurt and Myotismon attacked. None of the other Digimon were able to digivolve past Champion and they were getting beaten badly. Biyomon wanted to help, but since she was hurt Sora wouldn't let her. Then Biyomon said the exact same thing Sora had once said to her mother in a similar situation. Sora had then realized that her mother had loved her all along, and she let Biyomon digivolve and join the battle. Birdramon was still hurt, and since Myotismon was so powerful she couldn't fight at her best. But the more Sora thought about her relationship with her mother, the more she realized that she did know what love was, and her Crest began to radiate with the love she felt in her heart. As Sora remembers this important moment in her life, her Crest reforms within her Tag and glows a warm red, radiating love and strength.  
  
Mimi thinks back to when her Crest first activated and Togemon digivolved into Lilymon for the first time. They had been captured, along with almost everyone else in Heighten View Terrace, by Myotismon's minions when they were searching for the Eighth Child. She and Sora had come up with a plan to escape, but their escape had been blocked by DarkTyrannomon. DarkTyrannomon's Dark Fire Blast had been too much for the cactus-like Togemon to handle and was being sorely beaten. But Mimi's sincere faith in her Digimon being able to win lit up her Crest and gave Togemon the power she needed to digivolve into the classy Lilymon. At that moment, within Mimi's Tag her Crest of Sincerity reforms and glows a vibrant green, radiating with honesty and strength.  
  
Joe thinks back to when his Crest of Reliability had first glowed. He and Tk had been riding on Ikkakumon to get to Heighten View Terrace to help the other DigiDestined. Along the way they had met MegaSeadramon and got in a fight. MegaSeadramon easily overpowered Ikkakumon and knocked Joe and Tk off Ikkakumon's back and into the water. Tk couldn't swim, but Joe swam down and rescued Tk, bringing him back to the surface and getting him to latch onto a large piece of driftwood. Joe had explained to Tk that he was responsible for him, he had promised Ms. Takaishi that he would look out for him until everything was over. But he had hit the water headfirst and quite hard when he had been knocked off of Ikkakumon's back and he began to lose consciousness and slipped back into the water. At that moment, his Crest of Reliability had begun to glow with a steady dark gray light and filled Ikkakumon with the power he had needed to digivolve to Zudomon. As Joe remembers this, his Crest of Reliability reforms within his Tag and glows dark gray, radiating with Joe's maturity and inner strength.  
  
Kari thinks back to when her Crest had first lit up. It had happened when she had just gotten it. Myotismon was overpowering everyone and there was no hope in sight. Even Angemon, Tk's partner who had saved the DigiDestined from Devimon, as well as MetalGreymon, her brother's partner and had stopped Etemon, could not beat the Dark Ultimate. Wizardmon had just given his life to save Gatomon and herself. Kari had been scared, but she knew that the other DigiDestined were counting on her and Gatomon to help. Myotismon was evil. He had to be stopped. He was darkness itself in Kari's eyes, and she knew what the best way to fight the darkness was with: light. Her Crest had glowed with the phenomenal power of light itself, and it gave Gatomon the strength she needed to digivolve into the Ultimate level Angel Digimon, Angewomon. As she remembers this, Kari's Crest of Light reforms within her Tag and glows with pink light, radiating the purity within Kari's soul and the strength of spirit that the light represented.  
  
Tk thought back to when his Crest had activated for the firs time. His had been the last of the crests among the older DigiDestined to activate, and it couldn't have activated at a more crucial time. He and Kari were on Spiral Mountain, the last of the DigiDestined. Only Patamon had not been turned into a keychain by Piedmon, and only Kari and himself were not keychains like the other DigiDestined. Angemon was being beaten badly by the Dark Mega. After all, he was only a Champion Digimon. Piedmon was two digivolution levels above Angemon. But Tk clung to the knowledge that they could not lose. As long as even one DigiDestined was free, there was hope that Piedmon would be stopped. But he also knew that they were the last\, best chance that the Digital World had. As that knowledge filled his heart, his Crest of Hope began to glow with golden radiance, filling Angemon with its pure power and energizing him to be able to digivolve into the most powerful Ultimate level Digimon that any of them had ever seen: MagnaAngemon. As this memory lingers in Tk's mind, his crest of Hope reforms within his Tag, blazing with golden light, radiating such power and hope that even Jesse felt rejuvenated by the power.  
  
The older DigiDestined lift their Tags up to look at them in awe and wonder. Davis, Cody, Yolie, and Willis all watch in amazement as the Crests reformed within the Tags.  
  
"Pretty neat, don't ya think?" Jesse asks, "took me a month to figure out how to do it properly. If your Crests are ever destroyed, just do what you did just now and they will reform. Your Crests were at their absolute strongest when they first activated, and the feeling you have that activates them was at its peak at that time as well. All in all, it seemed like the best way to go about bringing your Crests back."  
  
"It was my idea," a voice says from above the DigiDestined. They look up to see Heromon and Wizardmon sitting on a tree branch. Wizardmon continues. "It was a fairly effective trigger, if I do say so myself. Reliving the moment your Crest first activated brings back the emotions and feelings from that time. For a Digidestined, these memories are more intense because they are intertwined with life and death struggles, so your memories of those moments are very clear."  
  
Wizardmon and Heromon drop down from the tree branch and land gracefully.  
  
"Jesse, everything is in place," Heromon says, "we just need your input for the final phase of this mission."  
  
"Mission?" Tai asks.  
  
"Your done already?" Jesse asks, surprised, "you contacted them and they're part of this? Memories restored and everything?"  
  
"Phoenixmon is awaiting whoever you send to here at Elecmon's village," Wizardmon says, "Tapirmon and Digitamamon are at Digitamamon's restaurant, the one with the Veggiemon working there as a supervisor."  
  
"I always hated that place," Jesse grumbles, "food was always lousy and the customer service was horrid. And it wasn't cheap either."  
  
"I remember eating there while he had Matt and Joe slaving away," Heromon chuckles, "I believe Joe cooked our meal. Only decent meal I ever got at that place."  
  
"Speak for yourself," Jesse gripes, "I ended up with someone else's order."  
  
"You knew we were there and didn't help us?" Matt demands angrily.  
  
"Couldn't do a thing," Jesse replies, "forbidden by the higher powers. Wouldn't have done anything even if I could've. You needed to grow from the experience. And besides, Gabumon was there so you were never in a lot of danger. Not from Veggiemon at least. They are always notoriously weak."  
  
"I don't remember you," Gabumon remarks.  
  
"Sure you do," Heromon laughs, "remember the silent duo in cloaks?"  
  
"Oh, so that was you," Gabumon says, "how did you hide your scent?"  
  
"That's easy," Jesse laughs, "we'd just been in a fight with a lot of other Digimon and their scents got rubbed off on us during the fight because it was at such close quarters. That's why you didn't recognize our scents."  
  
"So, you gonna give the newbies their crests?" Wizardmon asks.  
  
"Sure," Jesse says, drawing his sword, the Crest Weapon of Honor. The blade was plain, but very well taken care of. "Spectral Force."  
  
Mystical green energy forms into seven spheres of energy that shoot forth from the blade of the Crest weapon of Honor and converge within Davis' Tag, forming his Crest. The symbol on the Crest was the same as the one on the Golden Digi Egg of Miracles. It was the crest of Miracles.  
  
"Now that was cool," Davis says as he inspects his new Crest.  
  
"Spectral Force." This time, the energy converges in Yolie's Tag, forming her Crest. The symbol on her Crest was an equilateral triangle with a heart in it, the Crest of Compassion.  
  
"This is my Crest?" Yolie states as she looks at her Crest in awe.  
  
"Spectral Force." This time, Cody is the recipient of the energy as it merges within his Tag, forming his Crest. The symbol on Cody's Crest was of three circles touching one another in a triangle position, but not interconnecting.  
  
"This is quite amazing if I do say so myself," Cody states.  
  
"Spectral Force." This time, the energy rushes into Willis' Tag, forming his Crest. Te symbol on his Crest was the same as the one on the Golden Digi Egg of Destiny. He was the bearer of the Crest of Destiny.  
  
"So this is a Crest," Willis remarks as he studies his new accessory.  
  
"Willis, Davis, you both know what Crest you possess," Jesse says, "Davis, you possess the mighty Crest of Miracles. As such, you have access to the power of the Golden Digi Egg of Miracles. It will not be easy to learn how to access the strength of your Crest, but since you can access the Golden Digi Egg of Miracles so easily, you may be able to harness its awesome power. Same goes for you Willis."  
  
The two Golden Digi Eggs appear in Davis and Willis' left hands, then shine and disappear in streaks of golden light into Davis' D-3 and Willis' Digivice, which promptly turns into a white D-3 with an orange outline.  
  
"Yolie, Cody, you two possess the Crests of Compassion and Justice, respectively," Jesse says, "Yolie, Samantha Cruger, the lone female of my group of DigiDestined, wielded the power of the Crest Weapon of Compassion. Learn the strength of your Crest and keep it close to your heart. A time will come when it is needed. Cody, you possess the power of the Crest of Justice, one of the rarest Crests. Only a handful are rarer and they are the Crests of Hope, Light, Life, Faith, Spirit, Wisdom, and Honor. But you possess more of the spirit of the Crest of Justice than most other DigiDestined possess of their respective Crest power. You are a young man with a firm belief in justice. Knowing what I know of you, this is not surprising. I sense that you will bear your crest with pride and bring out its power when we need it the most. You know how to unlock your Digi Eggs. It takes far less power to unlock a Digi Egg than it does a Crest."  
  
A Digi Egg appears in Yolie's left hand. It is blue-green in color and is shaped roughly like a cylinder, but the top of it is conical. The Crest of Compassion is emblazoned in the middle of the Digi Egg. It vanishes in a streak of yellow light into Yolie's D-3. Cody's Digi Egg is more spherical, shaped a bit more like a normal egg than the odd shape some Digi Eggs were. It was black with red-gold stripes. The Crest of Justice was emblazoned on the top, displaying the fact that it was the Crest Digi Egg of Justice. It disappears in a streak of reddish-orange light into Cody's D-3.  
  
"Ken, you already possess your Tag and Crest," Kesse begins, "but you have never used a Crest Digi Egg before. You pioneered the voluntary use of DNA Digivolving. Your time as the Digimon Emperor showed you how tempting the darkness can be, but also how scary and horrifying it truly is. Only myself, Kari, and Tk are the only other ones among this group of DigiDestined who know this as well as you do. However, you truly are a kind person. If you weren't such a kind person, you wouldn't have been affected so badly after learning that Digimon were living, breathing creatures. You would have gone through a period of guilt and then returned to normal with just some underlying guilt that would always be with you. But no, you are haunted by your actions day in, day out. I doubt you'll ever be able to feel that you have atoned for the wrongs you have done. Maybe you can, though you will never be able to do it on your own or with Wormmon. You will need your friends. But, you cannot fight evil as you are. We will be going to places where normal digivolving will not be allowed without years more of experience as a DigiDestined that none of you yet possess. Instead, you will need to rely on Armor Digivolving. As such, I will be giving you your Crest Digi Egg."  
  
A small flower-shaped Digi Egg appears before Ken. It has the Crest of Kindness on it. It is a very light pink in color, with reddish-pink hearts on it. Ken blushes slightly at having such a feminine-looking Crest Digi Egg. It disappears in a streak of lavender light into Ken's D-3, which then changes its color to a slightly light purple color on the border instead of the black that it had been. The black inner space on the D-3 had long since changed to white.  
  
"Thank you," Ken says simply. He felt like a great weight had been lifted off his heart. He had felt that as long as the border of his D-3 was black, not changing at all from the way it had been when he was the Digimon Emperor and he held the Dark Digivice, the Dark D-3, that as long as it had not changed, he was still the Digimon Emperor on the inside. Now he felt lighter, freer than he had been in years.  
  
"It was no trouble," Jesse says, "I was not the one who made your D-3 change. It was you. If you had not fully accepted that your past is the past and you were no longer the Digimon Emperor, then your D-3 would have stayed the same."  
  
"Still, I thank you," Ken says, bowing deeply. Jesse returns the bow.  
  
"So, now we all have our Digi Eggs and Crests, right?" Tai asks.  
  
"That you do," Jesse says, "but I'm afraid this was the easiest part of the times to come. Evil has returned, and soon it will be in its darkest form once again. We'll need more help, but there are no other DigiDestined in this world with the strength to help us, even if I should give them their Tag and Crest, and Crest Digi Egg if it is not already taken by one of you."  
  
"So we just need to get stronger," Tai states simply.  
  
"That you do, but we still need backup," Jesse says.  
  
"But you just said none of the other DigiDestined except those here had the power to stand up to the coming evil," Izzy says.  
  
"No, I said none of the other DigiDestined in this world had the power to help," Jesse corrects, "I said nothing about DigiDestined locked away in the other worlds."  
  
"DigiDestined have been locked away in the other worlds?" Mimi gasps.  
  
"Think about this," Jesse begins, "when a Digimon dies in the Digital World, or even the Dark Ocean, they get reformatted and reborn at the Primary Village on File Island. When a Digimon dies in this world, the real world, they become a ghost like Wizardmon did. Humans who die in this world go on to, well, I actually got no clue. I'm not a very religious person so I'm not about to say heaven or hell, but perhaps something like that. But what do you think happens to a human who died in the Digital World?"  
  
"They get reformatted?" Izzy asks.  
  
"Sortof," Jesse replies, "they become ghosts. But, if my theory is correct, they slowly regain their physical substance. It would take a long time for this to happen though."  
  
"A long time as in, say, two million years?" Davis asks.  
  
"You got it gogglehead," Jesse says.  
  
"So, your friends, they could be?" Sora begins.  
  
"Returned to life?" Jesse asks, his facial expression not even changing, "more than likely they regained their substance years ago. Possibly when Apocalymon arrived from beyond the Wall of Fire. But because Apocalymon fairly much destroyed the Digital World, they ended up elsewhere. Gennai and I have already calculated where each one of them would have ended up."  
  
"So, why haven't you gone to get them?" Tai asks.  
  
"Because they would have been sent to dimensions I can't access," Jesse replies, "dimensions that Apocalymon's predecessor took over before trying to conquer the Digital World."  
  
"You mean the same creature that you and the other first DigiDestined fought?" Patamon asks.  
  
"You got it," Jesse nods, "which brings me to the other reason I deceived you and led you to believe I was an ordinary teen."  
  
Jesse's solemn look becomes grim.  
  
"What is it?" Tai asks.  
  
"I was trying to get to know you before sending you out on the four rescue missions," Jesse replies, "I need to make the teams complement each other perfectly and make your personalities compatible with the DigiDestined I would be sending you to rescue."  
  
"What makes you say you get to decide?" Davis demands. Jesse's glare cuts off further comment.  
  
"I get to decide because I am the most experienced and powerful DigiDestined here," Jesse replies, his voice even and unchanging, but it now seems to carry an air of menace about it, "I get to decide because I alone have any idea what you will be dealing with."  
  
Jesse pauses and takes a deep breath. "Also, I am the only DigiDestined who knows what the others are like."  
  
"So who goes to rescue whom?" Sora asks, trying to stave off any interruptions from Tai or Davis.  
  
"Well, it took me a while to decide," Jesse admits, "some I decided who would go to rescue whom within the first few days. Tai, Kari, Sora, and Joe, I am sending you four to rescue James Moyiyama."  
  
"James?" Tai, Sora, and Kari gasp.  
  
"Yes, James," Jesse says, biting back a grin, "he was the second oldest of our group. Tai, Kari, Sora, you three knew him before his family moved to America. That's why you get to go rescue him. Tai also goes because you'll need the muscle of WarGreymon to get through some of the stuff I expect you'll need to get through. Joe gets to go because they are so similar."  
  
"Thanks," Joe says, unsure on whether he was just complimented or not.  
  
"It's a compliment," Wizardmon assures him, "you will also be joined by James' partner. I believe you've met him a couple of times."  
  
"Who?" Sora asks.  
  
Jesse does grin at this. "Digitamamon."  
  
Tai arches an eyebrow at that, but says nothing. Sora smiles at the slight irony of Joe and Digitamamon working together. Kari smiles at the prospect of seeing James again and being on the team to rescue him from wherever he was. Joe just pales and mumbles something incoherent.  
  
"Davis, Ken, and Cody will be on the team to rescue Brian Tangit," Jesse continues, "he was our leader and very much like Ken. He was not confident in his abilities to lead us. He was middle in age among us. Samantha and Daniel were younger, James and I were older. Davis and Ken, you are going because you will need Imperialdramon for transportation and firepower if it is needed. Cody, you're going because Digmon may be more practical to bust Brian out of wherever he is being held."  
  
The three DigiDestined nod. This sounded easy enough.  
  
"Wizardmon will be joining you," Jesse continues, "he was Brian's partner."  
  
"Cool," Davis says.  
  
"Matt, Yolie, and Mimi, you will be going to rescue Samantha Cruger," Jesse says, "the lone female of our group. She is very much like you two girls. Matt, you're going for the firepower of MetalGarurumon. Yolie, you're going to give Mimi an aerial ride should she need it, and because you can relate to Samatha. She wielded the Crest Weapon of Compassion. Mimi, you're going because you can relate to her as well."  
  
"Okay," Matt says, uncomfortable with the thought of being the lone male human in his entire group.  
  
"Phoenixmon, Samantha's partner, will join you," Jesse continues, "she is a Mega, so she can actually give you some more muscle should you need it, but her energy cannot be replenished so easily until she links back to Samantha's Digivice."  
  
"Okay," Yolie says.  
  
"Tk, Willis, you two will be going to search rescue Daniel Cruger, Samantha's little brother," Jesse says, "Tk, you can relate to the kid because both of you were the kids of your respective groups, the youngest but the ones with the truest hearts. Willis, you are there because, frankly, you just don't fit in any of the other groups. You'll also be accompanied by Daniel's partner, Tapirmon."  
  
"But that's not fair," Davis protests, "neither one of them has a Mega! Why not send Matt with Willis and put Tk with Yolie and Mimi?"  
  
"Because, Heromon and myself will also be going with them," Jesse replies, "I promised Daniel I would look out for him, and I will be there to help rescue him. Plus, the place he will be in will be the darkest, most evil place you will have ever been to. I know where it is, and I can get there on my own. But I do not want to rescue him alone."  
  
"So where do we go and how do we get there?" Izzy asks.  
  
"Well, Daniel is trapped in a place similar to the Dark Ocean," Jesse says, "it's the only place I can get to, so I can open a Gateway for us to go through. But first, we need to get the rest of the Digimon. Heromon and Wizardmon have been slowly readjusting Digitamamon and Tapirmon back into their old memories, as well as waking Phoenixmon up from her slumber and getting her her memories back. We'll be going to a spot in the Digital World to meet with them and head to the Dimensional Gate."  
  
"Dimensional Gate?" Izzy inquires. He had never heard of such a thing.  
  
"The Dimensional Gate is a portal to other worlds," Jesse says, "it can take us anywhere, even places that I cannot go. I have never used it, because the places that I cannot go were outside of my jurisdiction."  
  
"So, when do we leave?" Davis asks.  
  
"I'll let you all go home to get some gear for a long trip, probably three days at the least, and to tell your parents," Jesse replies, "have them come up with an excuse of some sort to tell your schools. I've already sent in the papers that have me withdrawing from school. It's not like I'm a legal citizen of this country anyway. Technically, since I'm legally dead, I'm not a legal citizen of any country in the world. Digital World, I'm not just a citizen I'm one of the oldest living residents. Real world, just a visitor without even a passport."  
  
"Well, I guess we'd better hurry then," Tai says, "Ken lives pretty far away."  
  
"I'll be taking Ken home through the Digi Ports," Jesse replies, "I have some things to talk to him about anyway."  
  
The other DigiDestined nod and, with the exception of Ken, head home to gather their necessary supplies and to get their Digimon. They had left them at home and Willis had dropped Terriermon and Lopmon off after school to play with DemiVeemon.  
  
"What do you have to talk to me about?" Ken asks.  
  
"When you created Kimeramon, did you create any weaknesses in him?" Jesse asks. His question stuns Ken for a moment, but he recovers.  
  
"Not really. I was focused on building the perfect partner, a Digimon with no equal. At that time I had no idea about Mega's. In fact, the only Mega's I have ever seen are WarGreymon, Imperialdramon, BlackWarGreymon, Daemon, and MaloMyotismon."  
  
"Well, there are only a few Mega's beyond that that the second generation of DigiDestined have seen," Jesse says, "MetalGarurumon, Piedmon, MetalSeadramon, Machinedramon, Puppetmon, VenomMyotismon, and Apocolymon. The other kids of the third generation have also seen Cherubimon, Seraphimon, and Magnadramon though. And some have also seen Diaboramon."  
  
"Jesse, why did you ask me about Kimeramon?" Ken demands.  
  
"Because four different Kimeramon have appeared in the various parts of the Digital World," Heromon answers. Ken's blood runs cold. Kimeramon? Running loose in the Digital World? This couldn't be happening.  
  
"Ken, are you sure that there are no weaknesses in Kimeramon that we cannot exploit?" Wizardmon asks kindly, "some flaw in him? Something in the way he thinks that we can manipulate to make the battle easier?"  
  
"No, he's the perfect Ultimate as far as abilities go," Ken says sadly, "he has the best traits of various Champion and Ultimate level Digimon. He has to be totally overwhelmed in firepower. Granted, we can easily do that now, but if we were to split up our forces to take all four out at the same time, it would be very risky."  
  
"And then there's the fact that its power has been increased further by a pure connection to the Powers of Darkness," Jesse says evenly.  
  
"He's.even stronger now?" Ken manages. Kimeramon had been monstrously strong when Ken had originally designed him. To have his power increased like that would mean that even WarGreymon and Imperialdramon Fighter Mode would have trouble dealing with even one.  
  
"I'm afraid he is," Jesse says sadly, "I have yet to decide how to handle this situation. Splitting the DigiDestined up to handle four Kimeramon would put the ranks dangerously thin, though Heromon and myself could go after one on our own and allow Tk and Willis to join up with another team or two. But splitting up the DigiDestined sounds like a bad idea."  
  
"We could try and lure the Kimeramon into the same area and attack them all at once," Ken suggests, "even four Kimeramon would be hard-pressed to handle an onslaught of attacks from four Mega's and nine Ultimates."  
  
"I don't think they could withstand a full power blast from Heromon's lesser Mega form," Jesse remarks, "but Heromon takes a long time to restore his strength after digivolving to Mega, so I try not to have him digivolve that far unless it is absolutely necessary."  
  
"Lesser Mega form?" Ken inquires.  
  
"Heromon has two Mega forms," Jesse explains, "one is gained by Mega Digivolving from his Ultimate form, and it is the lesser, the weaker form. The stronger form, his true Mega form, is gained by Warp Digivolving from his Rookie or Champion level."  
  
"Why two forms?" Ken asks.  
  
"Each Crest, on its own, can enable the Digimon it is linked with to digivolve all the way to the Mega level," Jesse explains, "but it takes a deep understanding of the nature of what the Crest represents to activate the Mega Digivolution from the Ultimate level. But it takes more power than a single Crest can create to enable a Digimon to Warp Digivolve. When Agumon and Gabumon first Warp Digivolved into WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, their Crests were supercharged with energy from Kari's Crest of Light and Tk's Crest of Hope. Or at least some of the power from Tk's Crest of Hope. It had yet to be fully activated. Tk has enough of the power of Hope within him to enable Patamon to Warp Digivolve into his Mega form of Seraphimon from either his Rookie or Champion levels. However, if he Mega Digivolved from MagnaAngemon, he would become a different Digimon. What, I have no idea. Patamon rarely make it to even their various Champion forms. They are widely hunted down by evil Digimon because of the great power they could potentially possess. And it makes it harder to reach those levels because they require a considerable amount of power to digivolve between to their next level. And since Patamon themselves are weak in their Rookie forms, they are pretty much screwed."  
  
"I see," Ken says, "shouldn't we be heading to my home now so I can pack for this journey and tell my parents?"  
  
"Good idea," Jesse says, then waves his right hand. Two Digital Gates open up. Heromon and Wizardmon immediately head for one of them.  
  
"We'll meet you guys at the arranged spot," Wizardmon says, "hope you don't get attacked."  
  
"Very funny," Jess snorts, "like we'd be in any danger. There aren't any Mega's for us to be worried about, and I can handle any Ultimate long enough for reinforcements to arrive."  
  
"Sure sure," Heromon chuckles, "take care, see you soon."  
  
With that, Heromon and Wizardmon step through the Digital Gate and it closes behind them. Jesse turns to Ken.  
  
"The remaining Gate will take us to your home," Jesse says, "just outside it, actually. I doubt your parents would be pleased if you just showed up in your room with a stranger."  
  
"Your probably right," Ken sighs, "well, lets go."  
  
~outside Ken's home~  
  
The Digital Gate crackles, then disappears, as it deposits Jesse and Ken right in front of Ken's front door.  
  
"Glad to know you haven't moved," Jesse commented, "this is a good neighborhood. Nice people, good school district, affordable housing."  
  
"Thanks," Ken says with a faint blush. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his house key. Unlocking the door, he invites Jesse inside.  
  
"Mom, dad, I'm home!" Ken calls out.  
  
Mrs. Ichijouji walks up and gives her son a hug. "Hey honey, how was your day?" She spots Jesse. "Ken, who is this?"  
  
"Mom, this is Jesse," Kern explains while Jesse bows formally and says hello, "he's a DigiDestined from America. Mom, I think you'd better sit down. We have some things to tell you."  
  
"Okay dear," Mrs. Ichijouji says, recognizing the serious tone in Ken's voice. He had some news that he felt that she wouldn't like, but would have to deal with. "Would either of you like something to drink, or eat?"  
  
"No thank you," Jesse says, "I appreciate the offer, though."  
  
"Well son, what is it that you have to tell us?" Mr. Ichijouji asks.  
  
Ken looks at Jesse. "It's your story. You wanna tell them?"  
  
Jesse sighs. "Sure. You go ahead and start getting your stuff together."  
  
Jesse quickly outlines his role as the oldest DigiDestined, what he had been through, and what he had done while Ken gathers some clothes and other things for his trip to wherever this rescue mission would take him.  
  
"So you're the one that brought Ken home when he disappeared a few years ago?" Mrs. Ichijouji asks.  
  
"I did," Jesse says, "Ryo disappeared back to wherever he came from, but Ken stayed. He had been hit with the Dark Spore, which is what improved his academics and his athletic prowess. Unfortunately it is also what turned him evil. He was unconscious for a few days."  
  
"Evil?" Mrs. Ichijouji gasps.  
  
Jesse raises an eyebrow. "Ah, so he didn't tell you. Well, its in the past and I plan on altering the Dark Spore very soon so he will never be tempted by the darkness any more than an average person. He's too good a kid to be evil. It came as such a surprise to me that I was unable to do anymore than slow him down. I couldn't destroy him; he's human. That would be immoral and he wasn't even in real control on himself."  
  
"My baby was evil?" Mrs. Ichijouji gasps.  
  
"Again, he wasn't in control of himself," Jesse repeats, "and its in the past. It won't happen again. Don't worry, ma'am, I'll keep your son out of trouble. Its what I do. He would have done a lot worse if I hadn't intervened and stopped a few of his projects."  
  
"Why didn't you stop him outright?" Mr. Ichijouji asks.  
  
"Are you believers in destiny?" Jesse asks, "don't answer. I am. As you know, your son is one of the DigiDestined. As a DigiDestined, destiny is a part of him. He has been called to fight evil, but among all of the DigiDestined he has a special destiny. He could not properly fight evil without truly understanding it, and to truly understand evil, what makes evil do what it does, you have to be evil. Or extremely self-serving, which was really what he was. He had no inhibitions. The Dark Spore allowed the darker side of his nature to surface without the good to balance it. Before, he only had the good with no evil to balance it. Now he is balanced. And now that he is balanced, he can fulfill his destiny."  
  
"His destiny?" Mr. Ichijouji asks.  
  
"Of the youngest generation of DigiDestined, he is the oldest," Jesse replies, "he has seen more than any of them except for Tk, and that is only because Tk is one of the original seven of the second group. Ken is the only one other than myself with the ability to open gateways to other worlds other than the Digital World. Out of all the DigiDestined in the world, he is the only other one with this ability. As such, he is perhaps the most important of them. If the Digi Ports are ever closed, he will be the one to get them where they need to be going."  
  
"My baby can do that?" Mrs. Ichijouji murmurs.  
  
"He stopped being your baby when he was first taken to the Digital World," Jesse says softly, "going to the Digital World has a maturing experience on people. The change is subtle, and you really can't see it except when things are on the line, but a part of their innocence is gone forever. The DigiDestined will always be good kids: that's why they were chosen, but they are no longer children. Every time I see how much going to the Digital World changed your son, or young Takeru, or young Kari, I desperately wish that I had been able to take up their destiny like I had my teammates. It almost killed me as I watched them almost die time and again as the older kids traveled through the Digital World. When your son was the Digimon Emperor, I was forced to only slow his progress because it was not considered my place to interfere without certain restrictions on the powers of Darkness being ignored first."  
  
"Will you please watch after our son?" Mr. Ichijouji asks.  
  
"I will protect him with my life," Jesse says, his voice so serious that the Ichijouji's flinch. They could tell that he literally meant he would protect Ken and the other DigiDestined at the cost of his own life if it came down to it.  
  
"I'm ready to go," Ken says as he walks into the kitchen with a bag slung over one shoulder, Wormmon perched on the other shoulder, "how much time before we meet up with the others?"  
  
"We still have plenty of time," Jesse replies, "you sure you got enough stuff? You will be gone for four days at the least. Possibly more."  
  
"Four days?" Mrs. Ichijouji asks, "why will you be gone for four days?"  
  
"I told you about how my four teammates lost their lives in our final battle," Jesse explains, "well, as it turns out the nature of the Digital World kept them from dying. Their spirits lived on and their bodies slowly regenerated over the two million years that had passed in the Digital World since that battle. We're now on a rescue mission. Since they need to be rescued at very close to the same time, I cannot do it alone. And none of the other DigiDestined in the world even possess close to as much power as your son and his friends. So, in short, the Japanese DigiDestined, plus Willis and myself, are going on a rescue mission to save four people who truly are heroes."  
  
"Well son, I can't say that I'm pleased with the fact that you're gonna be missing days of school, but your mother and I will make up an excuse for you," Mr. Ichijouji says, "we'll get your homework and stuff so you can do it when you get back."  
  
"Its too bad saving the world isn't an acceptable excuse," Ken sighs.  
  
Jesse laughs. "How true. If it was, then we DigiDestined would really only have to go to school when we want to, because there is always some world out there needing to be saved."  
  
"Well, see you in a few days, a week at the most," Jesse says as he opens up a Digital Gate, "it was nice meeting you in person."  
  
"The pleasure was ours," Mr. Ichijouji says.  
  
Jesse and Ken walk through the Digital Gate.  
  
~Odaiba Park~  
  
The rest of the DigiDestined are waiting for Jesse and Ken to arrive. Their Digimon are still adjusting to the information that the guy they had informally met as Jacob was in fact Jesse, the oldest DigiDestined.  
  
The Digital Gate opens up. Jesse and Ken walk out of it and then it closes.  
  
"That is a nice way to travel," Ken comments.  
  
"Much better than the Digi Ports," Wormmon agrees.  
  
"So, how did your parents take the fact that you'll be gone for a few days?" Davis asks his DNA Digivolving partner.  
  
"They took it good," Ken replies, "they did seem worried, but that was to be expected. How did your parents take it?"  
  
"Pretty good," Davis replies, "Jun got home as soon as I did though." Davis looks at Jesse. "Sorry dude, but she knows that 'Jacob' is Jesse now."  
  
Jesse shrugs. "Its not like I'll really be hanging around here much after this whole mission and the evil is defeated. I'll just disappear again. Did she seem perturbed by that information?"  
  
"Strangely enough, it didn't bother her," Davis replies, "she just said that you were hot and strong."  
  
Jesse winces. "She didn't follow you, did she?"  
  
"I don't think so," Davis replies.  
  
"It doesn't matter," Jesse says, "she won't be able to follow us to the Digital World, so its no worries for me."  
  
Jesse raises his right hand. A Digital Gate opens. "This will take us to the Primary Village on File Island. We'll meet the rest of our fellow rescuers there. Walk on through."  
  
The DigiDestined and Digimon nod and walk through the Digital Gate. They each feel a pulling sensation as they near it. As soon as one of them is in the middle of the vortex of the Gate, they disappear in a pinprick of light. After each of the Japanese DigiDestined have gone through the Gate, Jesse walks up to the Gate and disappears in it.  
  
Some distance away, a lone figure watches the DigiDestined and their Digimon disappear through the Digital Gate. With a wicked grin, the figure vanishes in a small whorl of red and black light.  
  
~~  
  
I have redesigned some of the original Digimon, particularly Heromon's digivolutions. They just weren't imaginative enough for my tastes now. If anyone wants to draw the Digimon I created, e-mail me at silver_warrior12@yahoo.com or IM me at warrior6018 on AOL Instant Messenger. E-mail is better for a first contact.  
  
Turiemon's attacks are made up. I cannot find a place that has her attacks listed, so I just made some up.  
  
By the way, someone who read "Tale of the Original DigiDestined" sent me the info on some original Digimon, but I had forgotten to record who it was that sent me the info. If you are reading this and can remember, please notify me. I may be using the original Digimon soon and I need to point out who it was that sent me the info. 


End file.
